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A*V 






THE LIFE 



OF 



THOMAS MORRIS: 



PIONEER AND LONG A LEGISLATOR OP OHIO, 



AND 



U. S. SENATOR FROM 1833 TO 1839. 



EDITED BY HIS SON, 

B. F. MORRIS. 




His memory should be kept freshly living among the lovers of liberty and progress." 

Salmon P. Chase. 



CINCINNATI: 

PRINTED BY 

MOOEE, WILSTACH, KEYS & OVEREND. 

1856. 



IB 






PREFACE. 



This work comes before the public, with no ambitious pretensions. It 
is the compilation and record of the thoughts and acts of a plain and 
earnest man, narrated in a plain and honest style. It claims not, nor 
was it the aim of the Editor, to present a work of finished hterary 
excellence; this would not have comported with him, whose thoughts 
occupy so large a share of these pages, nor with the taste or ability of 
the Editor. The simple purpose has been, to gather, and weave into a 
connected narrative, the memorials of the life of one, who was an active 
laborer in the fields of human toil and freedom, and who, m his day, and 
' in his way, did something to augment the influences that are rising and 
swelling that great volume of power, which is to achieve the regeneration 
of humanity, and to inaugurate and establish the final and perpetual 
reic-n of freodom. Every contribution, however small, to this stream and 
tide of influence, is an increment added, and is essential to the combina- 
tion and completion of the entire power. It is the rivulets that form the 
rivers and the great oceans of the earth. 

The work will be chiefly prized, by the friends of freedom especially, as 
illustrating the manly heroism of one of the early laborers in the cause 
of liberty ; and of the value and triumph of a persistent adherence to 
the principles of right, justice, and Constitutional freedom. The true 
treasures of a State consist in its true principles, and the men who 
have the courage to give them practical and universal application Prin- 
ciples, as abstract ideas, or symbols of theory, are intangible and fruit- 
less • thev must have, if their nature and achievements are felt, on the 
varied interests of the State and Society, an outward development, and a 
radical, universal application. Men, can be men, in all the active elements 
of a true manhood, only when they are the embodiments and revelators 
of just and eternal principles. This is their mission, and on its execution 
depends, their usefulness and moral dignity. ^ 

The reader, if his patience will carry him through the pages of this 
work will find that he, whose life and services it commemorates, was a man 
who had settled convictions of right and true principles ; and who gave 
them an honest and steadfast application to his whole political life. For 
their defense and maintenance, he sax5rifice<l the honors and preferments of 

(in) 



IV PREFACE. 

office, choosing rather to be robe<l in the well woren ganaenl of j r 
pie, than to possess an'] wear the insignia an 1 •■•-•' v.-.,, v.. ^t k 

The work is an humble contribution to the p . 
ture of the country. The cause of free<lora, in its .-, 

the system of slavery, has been prolific in this ajr»', in th nf % 

multitude of works, gay anJ grave, in which xlavi-ry ha.* U«*a txy \ 

freedom vindicated. The forura of the State, the AlUrs of : 
Sanctum of the everteeming press, the geniua of the Poet. anJ t; • 

fancy of the Romancer, have produced thfir vnrit^l lit- • •• « 

to the great Anti-slavery cause of the country and \h- w r.x lu u..»e 
departments of intellectual effort, free<lora. and ih«« Ur-^-- - v.. . .j 
literature of the country, have been richly augment- I. I .. 
claiming no pretension to an elevated liicrarv BtAndard. yrt i: 
manly thoughts, uttered through its pagt-s by him. who*c lifr it . 
will be, we trust, no mean offering to the Anti-slarcry liu^raiurr of ihr 
country. 

The work is also a corre^-t historical ox' ' ' •, of the j 
and results of the important political cont. ,... ^■ 

slavery, during the age of our Republic, but • 
twenty-five years. Sentiments and acts, the i: : 
are given, to enable the reader to have an inU'lligent . 
of the question, that now absorbs and agitatoa the nation • ca 
taken to give historical facts as they are found in the public n^H. «„d 
papers of the times in which they transpired, yet Home crr.r. 
possibly be found. It was the feeling and pur,-..o ..f f 
to extenuate or set down aught in mali.-e " H- ' ■ 
in the wide field of facts, that belong to the hiM... , , ., , ., 
were evolved, and has clothed them in tho unvarni.h.l 1 • • ■."' ■ 
Greater amplification of the materials at hand micht 1 

The work, it is hoped, will not prove an unarcniable 
people of the great State of Ohio, whose earl v hisl'yand 
briefly sketched, and whose public servant 'it« 117 T , 
l^aps, than any other of the -any dLT^s eVm tl::: ^ ^^^ ^'• 

l-ersmfor^nngthecharacteroftheSta^andgirgroherb"^^^^^ 
elevation of political power, wealth, and mate ial rr ' 

work. National in its sen timpnta ;- ^\ "i^enai pr, 
Subject, the E,,it„r, ^^^^ ZXl " """ " ' ''■ ' - 
work, all belong, mainly to thAu? . """"^"''^ '» ^' 

3ucb,are pre.en.cl ,«X people ohZr """ "' '""°' "'' " 

the country, to undergo theirL'p. w ! T" "?" "' "" ""''"■ "■' 
judgment the work is\ow comZued "^"""^»°'' J"-^—'- T. lUi, 
September, 1856. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

9 
Introductory 

CHAPTER II. 

The Morris NAME—Ancestors of Thomas Morris— His Birth— Removal 
to Western Vir<^inia— Their Character— Home Education— Library— 
Learned to Read at his Mother's knees— Anti-Slavery incident of the 

Parents 

CHAPTER III. 

Early History of Ohio— Settlement at Marietta— Ordinance of 1787— 
Settlement at Columbia— The Early Pioneers— The first Baptist Church 
—Supply of Cincinnati with Preaching— John Smith, Preacher, first 
United States Senator, implicated with Burr, etc., 17 

CHAPTER IV. 
MARRiAGE-Incident in the girlhood of his Wife-Their Descendants- 
Removes to Clermont County, in 1800— Location in Bethel— An Anti- 
Slavery Incident— Studies Law— Bar of Clermont— Quoting the Scrip- 
tures—Character as a Lawyer, etc....... --^ 

CHAPTER V. 

Elected to the Legislature— Early Legislative History of Ohio— Narrow 
escape of Freedom in the Convention— Character of the men who 
framed the Constitution— Judge Cutter— Character of the Legislators 
of Ohio, for the first thirty-five years— Mr. Morris's position as a 

Legislator 

CHAPTER VI. 

Hrs labors and influence as a Legislator-Against Liquor Licenses and 
Lotteries— \gainst Prohibiting the Emigration ol Colored People to 
Ohio— Speech on the Rights of Conscience— On Abolishing Imprison- 
ment for Debt— His Faith in the People— The People to Elect all 
Officers— Jury Trials before Justices— Internal Improvements, etc., 6'1 

CHAPTER VII. 
Popular Education— Colleges and Common Schools— Advocates of the 
Common School System — Relation of Education to Government- 
Female Education— Commissioner of the School Fund, etc., 4 J 

C HAPTER VIII. 
hrPEVcHMENT of Judges— INIorris appointed to conduct the Trial— A 
SeS Committee on Vermont Resolutions in 1809-A Select Committee, 
in 1810 on the Measures of the General Government— Supports the 
wnr in' 1812— South Carolina Nullification in 1832— Morris a Select 
Committee-His Resolutions— Letter of Judge INIcLean-Reports on 

Colonization 

(V) 



VI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IX. 

ITi3 Radical Democracy— Learned from the iJiblp and il.#> Tf^cher* in t^r 

Democratic School — Not a BiL'>'tid 1' 

Doctrines of True Democracy — His 1'. ,■.,,.. 

ation of L'nited States Senat-.r in I^Jii— K 

in 1832— His Election Greeted with Em ., ele. 

C H A P T E r. .\ . 

Takes his seat in the Senate— Slavery— Anti-Sl^iror » *^f th# 

Revolution— (){)inion.s of .Majis-jn— ' 

Jay— Washington— Franklin— L.\---, - 

— Thanks of C^nj^ress to an A' 
Sentiment-Slavery, the Ruling Power-The Ca.i*<^ of . 

C H A P T K n .\ I 

Agitation'— Three Eras of Slavery \ p . • 

ouri Era — Present Era— .Mr. .M ~ 

Slavery and the Slave Trade in th- 
Congress -John Quincy Adams TLrt-ateDc^ v 
Resolutions of the Hou-e— Art! ' ' 
— Mr, Morris's Finnnc'-s- R. - '• 

Battle-G round betwe.-n Frr-edom ft' rv— I'r ^ 

-Senator Seward-Mr. Morris's S,...h ou'the H.^ht of IVUiion..'.. V; 

CHAPTER XII. 

lNCRE.iSEDAgitation-XumfK^rsofPetitionen._ 
talhoun s Resolutions— Counter '• ' " ^ — 

—Record in his Momorandum i ^^^* 

C H A P T K U XIII. 

A iM£M0R.vBLE day in Mr. Morris's Hi«- - -^ 

against Abolitionists and Slavery \ 

speech in answer to it. A .<^uthe^ .^..nator .ai,| Mr V 
expulsion-Reception thr-.ugh the c /* /"'•^•'' •'*'^- ^' 

Calhoun— Clay—Webster—Morris— E- *»' 



C II A P T E U X I V 

Vaeiocs Resolutions offered on Slaverv—Re'' 
a Southern Senator_A Northern Senator 
tions of Anti-Slavery Senators ^""^^^ 



' ruu. 



CHAPTER X V 



V. XI .\ r 1 E K XV. 

Alliance of Democracy with the Slavery Pow«.r t^ 
party a great calamity-Resolutions !.ftT^7^"'''"^ *" ^ ^-• 
on the 8th of January' 1s-:!0mVm '^^^^ ' 

r.uthrio, 3d of JannarV 1 s^7 Mr m""'- ' '^u ' ' A A 

tions refused to be l>r&tlC^^r;:,^l^y~^ " - ^^^- 

174 



CONTENTS. ^I^ 

dedicated to Mr. Morris 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Ppvption of rennsylvania Hall in Philadelphia-Distinguished Politi- 

ments 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Retipement from the Senate-Return to Ohio-Addresses a large meet- 

liETiREMii.M i^y Ariniqiuled bv the Democracy— Activity in the 

"Lrin'^eV'o'tt^^^^^ Party-NominLdfor Vice-Presi- 

dentlLltter on that subject-Attends the State Liberty Convention- 

His Address 

CHAPTER XIX. 
^r. nf l?no-itive Slaves — Compromises of the Constitution; 
^'ZSment o?&omre Me^^ in 1850 - Fugitive Slave Bill ,; 
Ssu4Ttoi?-President Pierce's opinionof it- Approved by Presi- 
VPP^'i:Vi™I '" tt;= fnvm^v Anti-slaverv Sentiments -Commi 



Opposition toit-Vreside^^^^^^^^ 

Sfrom the\^^^^^^^^ toVio in 1839-Ask Ohio to aid 

ifuecapturing their Slaves - How received by the Legislature of Ohio ; 
inLlecapturingL Morris's labors for their overthrow — His 

^- . nn^he duties of States in the rendition of Slaves - Report of 
:Tu%rSmith%nthrs:natfof Ohio in 1837-Mr. Morris's elaborate 



CHAPTER XX 



•D-^4.^ -noQ+li nf Lnveiov Mob in Cincinnati, in 1836 — 

"^ p"Sf Cetin'-i^nT;' Pres'^'ZtWed-Warned to leave the city- 
GaStte Threatened-Speech of the Mayor to the mob, at midnight- 
Publf sympathy with the mob-Contrast m ^^^^^^ .OP^^^^.^-^j^^- 
Morris in^ted to Dayton by the Mayor and others, ^^^^l^^'^^-H ^ 
Morris in^i^*^^ J Davton in 1842— Mob Violence— His Letter to the 

t^'"" 7^7^.1hi mob-Remarks on Mobs-Mob at Lexington. Ken- 
Mayor, after the mob liemarKS jj . Mob spirit at Cleves, 

Sr^^^^^^red-S:^^^^^^^^^ li road, by Samuel^ewis-InMel 

converted— Lane Seminary, etc., 

CHAPTER XXI. 
ANTT-siAVEKV Publications-Mails Examined-Post Office ^^ Charleston 
Mobbed-President Jackson's Recommendation - Incendiary Bill- 
Speech of Mr. Morris "" 

CHAPTER XXH. 

V x..ri^Tnv of Porties— Their nature and results— Politics and morality— 
^Thtreiiy of t^ieir union-Opinions of Washington^ 

a new ap%tion to parties-Mr. Morris's views on tins subject-Th^ 
nSrms of the two great parties on slavery-necessity of a new 
^arty-Liberty party formed - Its platform - Birney and Morris 



^^" COME N T S 



nominated—Free Soil party— I' v.n n^ ^ .. 

nominate.J-Hale an.l Julian • — ^ •" Burrn and AduM 

Republican party-Fremont anil i 

Letter of Morris on his nominaliou_A . f tK* 

Convention- Votes cast for the partr of • 



C H A P T F R X X I I I 



n.- 4 i 



TEKKiToniAr Expansion of Slaverv-Mi^-ouri C- 

31ib>uuri— A.lnii.^sion of \rk ■■ 

fetnate, on the Admission of '. Ui tW 

and He.olutiun of Mr. Morris on Texa*-A. 

Mexico-Cahfornia-]U.,..al of ,1.^ 

through the couutrv-Mauifest. o- 

Remonstrate -The kct done, etk....'.!."^'..*"' ^""" - " r. 



•t 



rial to the Legislature of oVio '^i„ Ivji ' , 

Appeal to Christians - Poem d ^~^ • - - 

ciples ^^™' ^ re of hi. courw a; 



a- 



t^rm-^. »H^ 



xr ^ " -^ P T E R X X V 

the Government from Kc 

'''"'^"•e^^^ ; .:...;;";;;'^"-'~'^'^^^f'tcr«.t w.,h. 

• ■ . . . , , 

C H A P T K R X V V r 

ana Michigan Boundary — Kx j 'J" — L^nd 

„, CHAPTER YvvT, ** ^* 

His Private Life and i>ersonaI rh«! 



n 



397 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 



" Honor to whom honor is due." The pioneers of freedom 
are worthy to be honored and immortalized in history. The 
unalterable friends of freedom, they lay the first offerings 
upon its altar, and devote, at the peril of their ow^n political 
standing, and of life itself, their energies to its defense and 
progress. History presents noble testimonials of the strug- 
gles, and achievments of these proto-martyrs to freedom and 
the rights of man. Political confiscation, banishment from 
political parties, and blood flowing from the block, attest the 
faith, and the self-sacrificing devotion of these patriots. Such 
men ought not to die from the memory, or the history of 
their country. They do not die. " In this world they will 
have their judgment day, and their names which went do^ivTi, 
temporarily, like a gallant banner, trodden in the dust, shall 
rise again, all glorious in the sight of the nation." 

Emmet, the patriot, and martyr for the freedom of Ireland, 
said, " Let not my history be written during the present 
generation. The future will rectify the judgment of public 
opinion, and remove present prejudices; then posterity will 
do me justice, and vindicate my memory." Truth is certain 
of an ultimate triumph ; and when that triumph shall come, 
their names and memories will live in grateful remembrance ; 



IX 



X INTBODUCTOBV. 

and before the world, " tJuir " ' f'*' cl<jnr thnn the 

noon-day; they shall shine furth, they Mhull f^r us tkd 

morning.^* 

The present is a fitting time to pixiient lo the 1 
liberty, the life and service's of one of the firet co-Uborvn in 
the cause of human freedom, in its contest wilh th- - 

sions of American slavory. Thomas ^; ' ' lu 

the councils of his countrv. Stale and N. evor iho 

honest, earnest, out-spok«'n, and fearU^s friend ot ■ 
In him Constitutional liWrt y, the rights of iiuui, t 
universal emancipation, and resistance to the slave p»wer of 
the country, found a faithful sentinel, and an able a<dvocat4^. 
He was among the first p<jliticjd martyrs in the jfmat struf^ 
gle between freedom ami shivery, llavini: frr'-h S ! 

honors proffered by the IK'nia-ratic |Mirty thai ) i 

with a seat in tlie Senate of the Unit4il Stat«->. il he ««xiid 
be an apostate to conscience and fnixiom, he . 
as unworthy of such a .-arritiee ; and the parly llu4l h.. 
nearly forty years honored him with politiml irusU and pre- 
ferments, decreed his poliliail crucifixion, lie paid the 
penalty on the 4tli of March, 1839, and retirctl from hit 
seat as Senator in Congress, with tlie proud e. of 

political rectitude, and of unfaltering faiihfuln.'Sji to fr- » 

and the true principles of the Constitution. 

Seventeen years have passe<l away since In.s v. 

dom was heard in the halls of the National C. ^ i 

twelve years since the grave held all that was mortAl of 
Thomas Morris. The man dies, but \m services and memory 
live. And the valuable services he rendere<l lo fn ^ 
when but few voices were heard in its defense, either in tiie 
country, or in Congress, will now be ai.pieeiat*^], ;. .hJ. 

and gratefully remembered. His warnings and )>r [ 

uttered with a fearless independence, in reference ' to tlie 



INTRODUCTORY. XI 

purposes and aggressions of the slave power, seeking perpetual 
expansion and supremacy, have been fearfully fulfilled. The 
present avowed purpose of the slave power, to hold, if possi- 
ble, the balance of political power in its own hands, and to 
give indefinite extension to the system of slavery, is but the 
true fulfillment of the predictions of Thomas Morris, uttered 
from high places of public trust. He foresaw the evil, and 
gave the alarm to the country. 

A distinguished and early co-laborer in the cause of liberty, 
Salmon P. Chase, who for six years filled with distinguished 
ability the seat in the Senate of the United States, once 
occupied by Thomas Morris, and is now the able and accom- 
plished Governor of Ohio, says of him: "I knew him well, 
and honored him greatly. He was far beyond the time he 
lived in. He first led me to see the character of the slave 
power, as an aristocracy, naturally in league with the money 
power ; and the need of an earnest and consistent Democratic 
organization to counteract its pretensions. Few anti-slavery 
men of to-day, with all the light thrown on the subject, saw 
this matter as clearly as did he. His memory should be 
kept freshly living among the lovers of liberty and progress." 
His life, services, and some of his speeches in the Senate 
of the United States, and in the Legislature of Ohio, 
together with various papers on the subject of American 
slavery, are now presented to the public. The work is 
undertaken and published from motives of filial affection, 
and patriotism ; and from a desire to perpetuate the services 
of an honored ancestor, who was a friend to the oppressed, 
an able champion of freedom, an incorruptible patriot, an 
honest politician, and a moral hero. In its prominent fea- 
tures the work is anti-slavery ; presenting the historical facts 
of the rise and progress of tlie seutiment of freedom, now so 
happily prevalent, to the ascendancy of which Thomas Morris 



xii iXTRoprrTORY 

gave no unimportant irapiil.se. It is aUo a brief hbtxvical 
record of the early settlement, and lepixlation of Ohio, with 
wliich Mr. Morris was prominently and intimately identified. 
The volume is detiicatiHl to the Citizen?* of Dhio am! tho 
Freemen of the United States ; in the lunnbh* hoj»e that it 
will add an additional momentum to the r of m 

growing public sentiment, that will o. in of 

American slavery, and fjive fr and {vrpi'tual 

triumph over the American continent. In thai triumph the 
name and ser\nces of Thomiw Morris will not be forgotten, 
who declared, " against this foe of Gal and nuui, wo hjiTe 
waged a pei-petual war: an<l we will teach our ch ' ' to 
lay their hands upjn the altar of their country- '»« Iibrrt\ ! 
swear eternal enmity to slavery*. '' 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 13 



CHAPTER II. 

The Morris Name— Ancestors of Thomas Morris— His Birth— Removal 
to Western Virginia^Their Character— Home Education— Library- 
Learned to Read at his Mother's knees— Anti-Slavery Incident of the 
Parents. 

The name of Morris is prominent in English history, 
and is redolent with patriotism and piety. Some fell 
among the martyrs in the reign of '' bloody Mary," and 
others have a place in the history of the Parliamentary 
struggles with Charles the First, and in the campaigns of 
Cromwell. Uniformly they were found on the side of 
freedom, and the name is extant with numerous and hon- 
orable representatives in England, Wales, Scotland, Ire- 
land and America. In 1637, the first representative of 
the name came from England and settled in Massachu- 
setts, from whom numerous and honorable descendants 
sprang; and the head of that first family bore the name 
of Thomas, the same as he whose life and services are pre- 
sented in this volume. 

The ancestral family from whom the subject of this 
memoir was descended, was from Wales. Isaac, the 
father of Thomas Morris, was born in 1740, in Berks 
county, Pennsylvania, and his mother, Euth Henton, in 
1750, and was the daughter of a Virginia planter. Nine 
sons and three daughters were the fruits of their mar- 
riage. Thomas was the fifth child, and was born on the 
3d of January, 1776, the memorable year of American 
Independence. Soon after the birth of Thomas, his 
parents moved to the wilds of AVestern Virginia, and set- 
tled in Harrison county, near Clarksburgh. They were 



] 4: LIFE OF S E N A T O K >f « • R 11 I 8 . 

both members of the Baptist Chureh, and Iive<l and d.i i 
exemphirv Cliristians. Th.' lather wu.h a minislor in th-ii 
denomination, and (luring sixty yean* preoehe<! th- 
pel, never failinjj^ in a single apiMjinlmcnl. nor never toi)k 
a dose of medicine. At his death, (x-cnrring at iho ripo 
age of ninety-one. in 1830. there were three hundred de- 
scendants. His descendants, living and dead, now num- 
ber about a thousand persons. 

The mother f(jrms the character and dirciu- luv ui^uny 
of the child. Thomas had a ('hrif«tian mother, who ijnvo 
him the first lessons in education, and tr ' him in the 

school of virtue and freedom. In iho*^' »uiiy ' ''• 

jn'ivileges of the common scho<d^ Wire mri*. and I 
entire education of most families was r- 1 al 

This was so of the Morris children. It wim» iho hahil of 
their mother, whenever in her log cuhin she - wn lo 

sew or knit, to have one of her children hy her mdc road* 
ing the Bible; for all of her children well ) • 

fore the}' were six years of age. The h 
of the Bible were selected as the mo'<t ii lin^ to the 

juvenile mind. Tiiis home e<lucation, the »l<^d at the 
mother's knee, is the first rrmnd in the ladder of .. 
ment. Here the young soul drinks in the fin»t draught 
of wisdom, an<l is schooled in motives drawn from the 
fountain of perfect and eternal truth. Here the finil 
aspirations for knowledge are formed, and the fin»t inspi- 
rations for freedom and virtue are received. Jt wan in 
the home school, and from a mother 'h lips, that Thomas 
Morris was trained to love truth and frei-d. Ilerv the 

elements of a character were planted whicii. In-eomin^ 
the radical convictions of his nature, made him. in the 
manhood of life, strong and f.-arless in the n 
slavery and wrong. 

The library of the Morris familv consisted of three 
Bibles, four Testaments, and as manv JIvmn books and 
Spelling books, a Dictionary, Dillworih's School -Mafetcra 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 15 

Assistant, the Young Man's Companion, an Arithmetic 
and an Outline of Astronomy ; Scott's Lessons on Elocu- 
tion, part of Bunyan's and Baxter's writings, and twelve 
volumes of sermons. These were the only facilities that 
Thomas Morris had for his early education. Three 
months at a common school completed his scholastic edu- 
cation. His college was the mountain wilds of Virginia, 
and there he graduated with a diploma from nature, and 
a blessing from a Christian mother. He early developed 
strong natural powers of intellect, an eager thirst for 
knowledge, and a manly self-reliance. At fourteen, he 
made a full hand in the harvest field ; at sixteen, he shoul- 
dered his musket to repel the aggressions of the Indians 
on the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania ; at seven- 
teen, he served several months in Captain Levi Morgan's 
company of wood rangers, stationed in the wilderness, in 
what is now the eastern part of Ohio. He was endowed 
with a strong mind and a vigorous body, and the early 
training of his mother imbued him with the elements of 
a character marked with boldness, self-reliance and fear- 
less independence. 

An incident in the life of his parents will reflect honor 
on their anti-slavery sentiments, and show how early 
their children were taught, by precept and example, in 
the school of freedom. His mother, in girlhood, held fre- 
quent conversations with a number of native Africans, 
kidnapped and brought in slave-ships to Virginia, the 
slave-trade then being sanctioned by law. Her father was 
a slaveholder, and at his death left, by will, one female 
slave, all he had, to his wife during her lifetime. At her 
death, this slave, with her increase, was to be the patri- 
monv of the two dauc^hters. In 1798, the wife of Hen- 
ton died, and eight " human chatties " was the inheritance 
of the two daughters. The executor of the will gave 
information of these facts, aud desired to convey to Morris 



16 LIFE OF SEX A TOR MnRRIS. 

and his wife their share of the - The \n 

tion was rejected as an outrage on iheir * of ' 

and they dechued tliat they would do no act ih i 

recognize the right of one man to inako another man 
chattel property. It was a matter of regret to the Mor- 
ris family that they did not receive them and give them 
the boon of freedom. This noble act of the parenta uf 
Thomas Morris wjus one of the home ! -iS ho receivod 
in the school of freedom. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 17 



CHAPTER III. 

Early History of Ohio— Settlement at Marietta— Ordinance of 1787— 
Settlement at Columbia— The early Pioneers— The first Baptist Church 
— Supply of Cincinnati Avith preaching— John Smith, Preaxjher, first 
United States Senator, implicated with Burr— Morris emigrates to Co- 
lumbia—Employed by Smith— Hunts in the forest where Cincinnati 
stands — A Contrast. 

In 1795, the territory now constituting the State of 
Ohio became the permanent home of Thomas Morris. 
The great N^orth-western Territory, out of which the five 
States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wis- 
consin have been formed, was ceded by Virginia to the 
United States. In 1787, Congress passed an ordinance 
which consecrated forever this vast domain to the reign 
of freedom. Slavery was forever prohibited. The wis- 
dom of that great act has been most signally vindicated 
in the present prosperity and greatness of the State of 
Ohio. In her material wealth, in her noble systems of 
education, in her agricultural and commercial prosperity, 
in her political power and influence, and in all that -con- 
stitutes the best types of a Christian civilization, Ohio 
presents a noble monument of freedom, and the most 
unanswerable evidence of the wisdom of that policy that 
forbids the foot-prints of a slave to tread the soil of a free 
nation. This noble ordinance of freedom was, on the 4th 
of July, 1788, made the special topic of eulogy and thanks- 
giving by the emigrants who, on the 7th of April, 1788, 
made their settlement at Marietta, on the banks of the 
Ohio river. In the groves of nature, and in the midst of 
the enchanting scenery that surrounded them, breathing 



9 



X8 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

an air made fragrant with freedom, did the pioneer emi- 
grants from Xew Enghmd celebrate the anni ry of 
their national independence, by an oration of : 
ing to God for that ordinance that l»ad J t- 
ted the soil of Ohio to freedom. 

In November, 17>>. seven months . t^ th# 

settlement at Marietta, a colony of emi^'ranl** n- 

other settlement at Columbia, Hamilton county, 6% 
above Cincinnati. Among others, the«*«'' rmirrrnnt?! con- 
sisted of Goforth, Stites, Major liano, i . ^ .. r. 
John Smith, Francis Dunlavey. and John Jieily. ^ 
Burnet, himself an early pioneer, and a dint- — • v^ 
actor in the history and legislation of Ohio, in ju- ^-ic* 
on the North-western Territory, says of the '■ "*' r» in 
Columbia : • Tluy were all men of energ}* and < -c, 
and were more numerous than either of the 
commenced their settlements below them on liic U> 
The village of Columbia, it was thought, would * *© 
the great commercial town of the Miami - T 
many jears maintained a vigorous rivalry wni» li. 
settlements of Cincinnati and North lUnd. ( U, 
however, became the center of commerce and \ n, 
and so rapid has been her progress, that she now almoiit 
includes within her corporate limit* Columbia, once her 
rival and superior. 

The Indians were numerous and hostile, and hence it 
became necessary for the emigrants to erect a fnrt. railed 
Fort Miami, for their protection, and which a.. . ..d to 
the families a place of safety and refuge. Farm- u-ro 
opened and agriculture prosecuted under a military ^.^..^e. 
■\Vhile one part of the emigrants were working in the 
tields, another must be watching lest the Indians should 
attack them by surprise. 

Several of the early emigrants were Bapti.-i preachers, 
and one of the first acts was to organize a church, and to 
erect a house for the worshi]> of God. The church waa 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 19 

constituted on the last Saturday of March, 1790, by Eev. 
Stephen Gano, of Providence, Ehode Island. There were 
nine members who united in the constitution, viz. : Ben- 
jamin and Mary Davis, Isaac Ferris, John Ferris, Eliza- 
beth Ferris, Jonah Eeynolds, Amy Eeynolds, John S. 
Gano and Thomas C. Wade. During the Spring of 1790, 
the frame edifice was opened for worship. It was built 
on a beautiful eminence, and stood, for a half century, a 
suggestive relic of pioneer faith and enterprise. Many 
years after, when the venerable building was passing into 
ruins, some one gave utterance to his feelings in a poem, 
of which the two following stanzas only remain : 

" Near where the Ohio winds its lonely way, 
Through fields and flowers, and herbage richly gay ; 
There on a green, luxuriant sloping sod, 
In ruined mantles clad, stood the lone house of God. 

A strange sensation thrilled across my breast. 

As its drear aisles my wandering footsteps pressed ; 

Their sounds alone disturbed the pensive scene, 

That spoke what it was then, and told what it had been." 

At the dedication of this church, which was the second 
erected in Ohio, in order to be protected from the attacks 
of the Indians, the militia appeared armed for defense, 
and Col. Spencer, long a venerable and honored citizen 
of Cincinnati, addressed them at the close of the sermon, 
on the danger the congregation was in if attacked only 
by a half dozen Indians; and on subsequent Sabbaths, 
this congregation of pioneer worshipers were dispersed 
in sreat haste for fear of the Indians. Thus the insti- 
tutions of Christianity and of civilization, were planted 
by the perils and privations of our noble and self-denying 
pioneers. This Baptist church had the true missionary 
spirit, and labored to diffuse the blessings of the Gospel 
into destitute regions. Cincinnati then needed the min- 
istrations of a Gospel minister; and in April, 1790, the 



20 LIKK OK HKNATOn MORRIS 

churcli formally passed a resolution -that in view of Um 
entire destitution of proachinif in Cincinnati. Br^). Smith, 
(afterward the eelebrated John Smith. Sorutt^r of Ohio), 
be allowed to spend half his time in that ^ 

Rev. John Smith was the first roifulHr pa-L.T. and emi- 
grated from Pennsylvania, in May. 17JH>. lie wa« ft 
remarkable man, possessed of varied talent, and a venm- 
tile genius. He was a Ruecessful merchant, an ;v'- •♦ pol- 
itician, a sagacious legislator, and an able ui>iiji-. A 
cotemporary, Judge Pollock, of Clermont county, itaid 
of him : '* As an ox-driver, no man was his nu\ at 

a log-rolling, or horse-racing, he wan the ff .ti; 

at the end of a handsjiike, few could outlill liint. Th© 
Sabbath day would tind him in the polpit, an able adro- 
cate of the doctrines of Christianity and of the <t 

denomination. As a member of C he stood 

among the great men of the nation." 

In 1802, Ohio was admitted into the Union, and John 
Smith was elected one of her first S n» in 

which office he filled for one term. At the cloho »»f hiii 
Senatorial term, he became implicated with Aan.it Htirr 
in his treasonable i»roject of fonning a Sont)l•^^ rn 
independent government. Smith, in ls07, refiignc<l hia 
Senatorshij). tied from Ohio in disgrace. lo«t hi- ■•"•••nt 
wealth, and ended his career in dishonor and i>ovvii^ at 
Bayou Sara. Louisiana. 

In 179.->, Thomas Morris, a young an<l enterprising 
adventurer, nineteen yeai*s of age. frr»m the monntainH of 
Western Virginia, arrived in C.)lumbia. He wa.8 inime- 
diately employed as a clerk in the store of Rev. John 
Smith, and became a great favorite with him. During 
this time his mind became deeply exercised on the subject 
of personal religion, and his feelings found utterancx* in 
in frequent poetic effusions, which are all lost. Pev J^d.n 
Smith, and others, regarded these productions hh of trreat 
merit for a youth of his age and limited cdu.-ation " For 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 21 

several years he continued in the employ of Smith, im- 
proving, as he could, his mind by reading, and preparing 
for a wider sphere of action. 

The plat of ground on which the great commercial city 
of Cincinnati now stands, was frequently traversed by 
Morris. His feet threaded the forest, then in the wild 
magnificence of nature, and the crack of his rifle brought 
down many a wild turkey from the tops of lofty trees 
which covered the very spot on which now is erected and 
established that noble building and institution, the Young 
Men's Mercantile Librarj^ Association. How wonderful 
the change in fifty years! Now, commerce, arts, sci- 
ence, education, Christian institutions, and the highest 
forms of a refined social civilization, and a prosperous, 
industrial population of over two hundred thousand peo- 
ple, cover with their peaceful and noble triumphs, and 
their monuments of taste and civilization, and happiness, 
the same forest where young Morris was accustomed to 
shoot his wild game. 

♦* Peace has her triumphs no less than war." 



22 lAVY, OK SENATOR MORBI». 



ril A PTKU IV. 

Makriaqe — InciJent in the prlhiv^J , ••- 

Removes to Clermout Countv, io i>».' — i.-^-cAU-u m i<ii*ri — An 

Anti-slavery InciJent— .'^iu«l»e« I^w— P-- '' ' ' • ••■ •■■it tb* 

Scriptures — Character as a Lawyer — 1 :-- . hjm — 

Tncitlont in a Court-hou««'. 

Among the tii^t cinij'rantM to Coluinl»ui, wn« ilu» famjlv 
of Benjamin I)avi.s; ori in L:. 

Pennsylvania, but dirmt Irom .MaM»ii 
The ancestors uf this I'aniily were IVom \\ jii*'**. i 

honored. Tht- chihlren of Ben 
consisted of tive sons and tlm*- 

Eachel was the youni^cst. On the I .t, 

1797, two years after lie reached i iil, 

Thomas Morris and Hachel l)avis were u. I 

She was reared in the midst of t\\v |»riv.. of a 

pioneer life, and was the fitti!?ir fomj . nf h-iu \ih.» 

was to endure the hardships new cnuntrv nnd to 

achieve his own fortunes antl character ^ . »• 

women of the West, were efficient and faithful pu - 

pators in the ^rrciii work of laying the fouivf-'-tm of 
the new empire, and endured with patient htiv.,aui ih© 
dangers and privations of a )>ack-woud^ life. An inci- 
dent, in the girlhood of Rachel Davis, will ilUntnitc tho 
daring and self-independence of the early femalcn of tho 
AVest. In 1796, she and lier sister made a visit to tl 
fiimily residence, in Washington. Mason county. K».|,- 
tucky. The distance from Columbia was forty-five 
miles, and through an unln-oken wilderness, unma'rked 
except by a horse-path. The Indians were roaming' in the 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 23 

forests, and travelers were in constant danger. Nothing 
daunted, these traveling girls started alone on their 
journey, on horse-back, and, without once alighting from 
their horses, safely accomplished their journey. A linen 
wallet with some shell corn in one end, and their dinner 
in the other, afforded refreshments for man and beast, at 
noon, when by the side of a running stream they stopped, 
poured the corn on the ground for their horses, and par- 
took of their own refreshment on horseback. 

The marriage life of Thomas Morris and Eachel his 
wife continued almost fifty years ; she surviving her hus- 
band eight years, and dying at the age of seventy -four, 
on the 16th of January, 1853, near Cincinnati. They 
raised and educated eleven children, who lived to fill posts 
of usefulness and honor in society. The oldest son, after 
filling with ability for nearly twenty years the clerkship 
of the Supreme Court, and that of the Common Pleas, in 
Clermont county, represented, for four consecutive years, 
the Congressional District of Ohio, in the JSTational Legis- 
lature, succeeding, in 1846, the distinguished and lamented 
Thomas L. Hamer; the second son held during twenty 
years, and during several administrations, the ofiice of 
Post-Master, of Bethel, Ohio ; the third son has been a 
minister of the gospel during the last seventeen years, in 
the New-School Presbyterian church; and the fourth 
son, a resident of Quincy, Illinois, engaged in the profes- 
sion of law, has been for the past twenty years a promi- 
nent and active member of the Democratic party, and 
was honored with the ofiice of Chief Commissioner of the 
Public Works of that State, and elected as a member of 
the Legislature, and is now a candidate for Congress. 

There are now living about sixty descendants of Thomas 
and Eachel Morris, and scarcely one either dead or living, 
was openly infidel or irreligious. All the children were 
members of the Methodist or Presbyterian church, but 
two, and they firm in the faith of Christianity, and some 



24 LIFK U. .... ATu. 

who are dead were dihtinguishcd for iheir < an 

character. 

This fact is suggestive and instructive. The par% 
Avere themselves the chihlren of Chri-tian j-.. 
the mother for thirty years a m< '^f the lJ«i.' 

church. They taught their children to i . o in ' 
tianity, and to attend upon the iuiititulions of tho O 
and in their old age they had the pleai«urp nf u-itn 
their descendants moral and religious, i ... . i 

their origin in the Log-Cabins of the \Vct»i, u..v., ..., .r 
own Christian parents taught them the |(rval truths of 
the Bible, in early childhood. 

In 1800, they removed from Columbia to Wn. 
burgh, Clermont county, Ohio, for many 
of that county, and in 1804 they pen .liV i- u 

Bethel, where they resided the most ol liictr a 

An incident, marking the anti-hlavery - i oi ii-kt 

time and village, must, here, have an h r-l 

The proprietor of the village wa.s Obed I> i 

it out in 1802. lie was from Virginia, and a of 

the Baptist church ; and in donating two lot** to the liap- 
tist denomination, he put into the deed of « 
the following record, viz. : " I ai>o give tw.i |nt« in #a!d 
town, Xos. 80 and 180, for the use of the n 

church, who do not hold slaves, nor « 

Lord's Table Avith those who do practice such tyranny 
over their fellow creatures — for to build a house for the 
worship of Almighty God, and to bury the dead, and for 
no other use." Mr. Morris said, for this act, Mr. Donham 

deserved a marble monument. The removal of T!: ^ 

Morris to Clermont proved fortunate. His energies i- .ua-i 
an active field for development and effort, and he rc.Hulved 
to be a successful winner. Without friends, without 
pecuniary means, with a growing family, without a pre- 
ceptor, and with few books, he commenced, in 18u2, tho 
Btudy of law. Early and late he was at hi,* legal bc^lu. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS 



25 



After the hard labors of the day were over, night found 
him at his studies reading Blackstone, not by the light 
of an astral lamp, nor yet by the common light of a tallow 
candle, for his poverty forbade this cheap convenience, 
but by the light afforded by hickory bark or a clapboard 
in his cabin,"^ and often from a brick kiln which he was 
burning, for the support of his family. 

Under these formidable difficulties, with a resolute pur- 
pose and an iron will, he pushed his onward way, and 
reached the goal before him. Completing two years of 
study, he was admitted to practice as an attorney and 
counsellor at law. He had not mistaken his profession 
or his powers. He soon took a leading position as a 
lawyer, and reputation and business rapidly accumu- 
lated. 

The Ear of Clermont, for many years, was distin- 
guished for its ability in its home and visiting lawyers. 
Benham, Fox, W. H. Harrison, jr., and others from Cin- 
cinnati ; Corwin, from Warren ; Hamer, from Brown ; 
Martin Marshall, from Kentucky; and Fishback, now 
the patriarch of the legal profession in Clermont, men of 
great legal attainments and intellectual abilities, were the 
men who met at various courts, to measure weapons with 
each other. Morris was among the first of that circle of 
distinguished lawyers. Before a jury, there were none 
who surpassed him in power and effect. Engaged in 
almost every case in Court, he ever maintained an emi- 
nence equal' to the highest, and was a successful winner 
in the field of legal honors. 

As a lawyer, and a public speaker, he quoted more fre- 
quently than most public men, from the Bible, and those 
quotations, being apt and accurate, greatly added to the 
conclusiveness of his arguments before a jury. His readi- 
ness to employ the Scriptures to confirm his sentiments 
showed his familiarity with them, and his belief in their 
Divine authority^ 

si' 



26 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

In the Senate of the United Slati-.. whru t.^ a 

speech on the monetary- interestft of the c«»untry, an«i the 
evils resultini^ from the credit sy.stem. tending to the 
destruction of self-independence, he cited Bible authority, 
that 'the borrower is sers-ant to the lender.' A co- 
Senator, Mr. Manicnm, of North Carolinn, with ifreat 
earnestness, denied the truth of Huch a d<»clrine. Hjt. 
Morris replied, that the autliority wuf* of Divine origin, 
and he submitted the (jueHtion to the Senate, wl ' •- the 
Senator or the Bible wa.n of the hi riuthnnly. 

A successful lawyer for forty vt-an*. vet he never 
cncouraf?ed litifjation. •• It out:hl to be." Miid he, " oar 
aim to prevent litigation, as far :i*< ]<: ; the 

rules and ends of justice." His servi re 

rendered as wiliinirlv and ener. ilv to the i>oor a« to 

the rich. Indeed he was jt^enernlly on the f»i the 

poor; if it had not lieen 80, bin ability im an a-. re 

would have yielded }ii?n an immense fortune. With him 
the right was the i^reat leadint; motive, and iho effort lo 
violate it stirred the strongest energies of bin natum nnd 
brought him down on his adversary with an irre. ..;do 
power and force. 

In a legal contest with Benhara, an able law. ^ ,u 
Avhieh he, (Benham) wielded his sarca»*ni and el.MjUfaco 
against the citizens of villages, who. he affirmivl. when 
they got a few mechanics nnd one or two ].r :»| 

men. put on airs of importance and dignity— Mr. Morns 
retorted with a power and eloquence that wa» felt by hifi 
distinguished opponent. Tie contrasted city 1 * n 

with the free, honest, and independent citizens in c«,un(rv 
villages, and made a most powerful delVnse of the 1 
position and honorable calling of mechanics and laboring 
men. The vindication and triumph were cnn.plete Mr 
Benham said afterward, that Morris wa.s harder to van- 
quish than any lawyer he contended with. 

In a case of great importance, before the Court of 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS 



27 



Brown county, he desired a continuance of his case, a 
principal witne-ss being absent, on account of high waters. 
The Court refused the motion ; and Mr. Morris procured 
a horse, swam the stream, and with his witness behind 
him, returned and replunged again into the swollen 
stream, entered the Court, and gained his case. 

These incidents are illustrative of his unconquerable 
energy, as well as of his ability as a lawyer. His success 
had a'^significant connection with his reading Blackstone, 
by the light of hickory bark, in his log-cabin. 



28 TTFF OF PKNATOR MORRIS. 



rilAPTKK V. 

Elected to the I^egislaturo — E.irlv L^pislatire 11 • •ao— Narrow 

escape of Free'lom in the Conrention — Charartrr ot Um M«l vte 
framed the Constitution — .Tutlp? rutt«'r — Churmrtfr of tb« L- rt 

of Ohio, for the first thirty-fiTC Tc«r«— Mr. Morrit'* | x'> % 

Legislator. 

In 180G, >rr. Morris was elected a rcj tiro fmm 

Clermont county, and took his seat at 7 • -n 

the capital of Ohio. 

The early legislation of Ohio formn one of tho r- 

est and most honorable historical chapters in her : : 1. 
The legislators, to whom wore entrusted th.. tr,*k of con- 
Btructing the organic system of the civil . iimenl of 

Ohio, were men of practical wisdom, ah.. . i jimt and 
liberal views. Its territorial government wa« the crea- 
^!?^^^^ ^^^^ ^'^ '"'^' breath of freedom. The Ordinance of 
1787 laid the chief corner stone in the structure of b.-r 
greatness and prosperity; and the men who fr * tl.o 
State Constitution, and created her system of Ic i, 

conformed their policy to this great' charter of In »! 

They consecrated the State to Religion, V 1 

Freedom. The Bill of Rjrjhts declares.' -That i 
slavery nor involuntary servitude, except for crime, eball 
exist in the State; that religion, moralitv, and know. 
ledge, being essentially necessarv for go..d governm. • 
and the happiness of mankind, schools and the i 
instruction shall forever be encouraged by 1, ive 

provision; and that all men are born equally : u.d 

independent, and have the right to life, liK-r'tv and of 
pnrsuiDg and obtaining happiness and safety " * 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 29 

These enactments saved Ohio from the blight and curse 
of slavery. The slave power, however, early made a 
strong effort to gain a foothold on the virgin soil of Ohio. 
At the first session of the Territorial legislature which 
met, February 4th, 1799, in Cincinnati, petitions were 
presented by many Yirginians, who owned lands in the 
Yirginia Military Bounty District, west of the Scioto 
river, to settle, with their slaves, on their own lands. 
These petitions were rejected at once. The legislature 
believed that the Ordinance of 17 S7 left them no option whatever j 
and they did not even entertain the petitions. 

A second effort was made, when the State Constitution 
was formed, to introduce and fix slavery upon the soil of 
Ohio. Presidential power was used then, as now, to give 
extension to the system. Jefferson w^as President; and 
Jeremiah Morrow, Ohio's first representative in Con- 
gress, when his duties called him to the seat of govern- 
ment, called on the President, who expressed to him his 
deep regret that slavery had not been allowed to enter 
the new State. The reason assigned was, that the exten- 
sion of slavery over a large area tended to destroy it. A 
great error, as the history of American slavery mourn- 
full}^ confirms. 

In the convention met to form the Constitution of 
Ohio, John W. Brown, from Hamilton county, chairman 
of the Committee on the Bill of Eights, presented a sec- 
tion declaring that, " No person shall be held in slavery, 
if a male, offer he is thirty-five years of age; and if a female, 
after twenty -five years of age." This section was defeated 
by the heroic firmness of Ephraim Cutler, of Marietta. 
He framed the eighth section, containing the Bill of 
Eights, in which slavery was forever prohibited, and this 
section was incorporated into the Constitution. It was 
the opinion of Mr. Cutler, that the section allowing 
slavery, in a modified form, originated with President 
Jefferson ; and Browne, in advocating this policy, said — 



30 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIP. 

""What he ha<l introduced was thoujjht. by the fi^TtMtt§% 

men in the nation, to bo, it' in the i- 

tion, a great step towanl the ^enenii en oi th« 

slaves." ^Ir. Cutler, in view of the narmu 

dom had, in this contest with slaverv. made in h A 

the following record : " Tlius an ovornilinif V: 

by His wisdom, makes use of tL< . n to <1«'f«*at 

the purpose of the great and wise; and to 1; •« 

the glory and jjraise." 

Let Ohio ever honor and liohl in grateful rrm<»iubnuic« 
the services and memories of her first K^. .-lora, and 
those who in her subsequent historv*. wi?'- ..«rt.,^f..,^-, 
and ability, maintained the principles of li,^ ,..*„. «uilu 
gave her birth, and by which she has risen to unexam- 
pled prosperity and greatness. 

Judge Burnet says— -The delegateii who fr: 
Constitution were, with but few cn -. Ui*> Ui,^i 

intelligent men in the counties." Jcrcm.uii y w. ih« 
first representative in Cungn-s^. al'terward - r and 

governor, a man whu was ever faithful and t, and 

who died, full of yeai-s and honors, in 1^.'._' [>.:... vv. an 
early pioneer to Columbia, a man of integrity and liberal 
education; John Kelly, an honored citizen of Butler 
county; Tiffin and Worthington, from Ko»». and Hung. 
tingdon, from Trumbull, all of whom were Governors of 
the State; Cutler and Putnam, fn.m U ....:K^noD ■ and 
Gatch and Sargeant, from Clermont, were amoi. 
honored men who successfully labored, in the canstnic 
tion ot the State Constitution and the earlv legislation of 
Uhio. Gatch and Sargeant were electe«i W-cause thev 
wei^ anti-slavery men. They were both Virginians. an"d 
both were practical emancipators. General llarri.son the 
Temtonal representative from Ohio, in Congress, in a 
public letter, written in 1820, when a candidate for Con- 
gress m Ohio, in which he was defending himself against 
the charge of pro-slavery sympathies, reibrs to his ^^en" 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 31 

able friend, Philip Gatcli, who was a member of an 
abolition society in Virginia." 

It is a debt of gratitude due from the great State of 
Ohio to honor the memories, and to perpetuate, in her 
historical annals, the services of those earliest legislators 
and founders of her fame and greatness ; men who orna- 
mented the State by their private virtues and public 
labors. In this catalogue of able men and upright legis- 
lators, who, from the date of the birth of Ohio, through 
the subsequent thirty years of her legislative history, 
aided in adjusting and perfecting the system of govern- 
ment, must be named — Jacob Burnet, John McLean, 
Ethan Allen Brown, Charles Hammond, Benjamin Tap- 
pan, John M. Goodenou, John C. AYright, Elisha Whittle- 
sey, Samuel M. Yinton, Joshua Collet, Eeuben Hitchcock, 
Allen Trimble, Duncan McArthur, Eeuben Wood, James 
Cooly, Joseph Yance, and others. The present genera- 
tion, says the author of the memoir of Judge Hitchcock, 
know but little of the treasures of knowledge and talent 
brought to Ohio by her energetic and enterprising pio- 
neers. The present generation is inclined, most errone- 
ously, to arrogate to itself superior abilities, in proportion 
to its greater facilities. On hearing a remark claiming 
this superiority, the reply of one of the survivors of that 
day Avas — "Y"ou are mistaken; I tell you there were 
giants at the West in those days." lll^early all of those, 
distinguished in the constitutional and legislative history 
of Ohio, have passed away, but they have left noble monu- 
ments of their wisdom and labors. 

Thomas Morris was among the ablest and wisest of the 
legislators of Ohio, and identified during a long period 
with her legislative history, being a member of the Gene- 
ral Assembly for twenty-four years, and connected with 
the politics of the State for fifty years. 



32 LIKE Oi* SENATOR MORRIS 



CHAPTER VI. 

His labors and influence as n L^ginlnt : i** I i i r !.!.-#:■ , 

Lotteries — Against rrohibiling iL > to 

Ohio — Spe<?ch on the Iligbtn of C<.» 

ment for Debt— His Faith in the i -Tie \ 

cers — Jury Trials before Justices — IntcmAl Im; 

to the Canal System of Ohio — Prophecy alx/ut Kauir ..n a 

Canoe — A Contrail. 

In the Ic'^nslalure of Ohio, he ysas a |»rt»i ^.t and 
active partici]>ator. His abilities boon pluci'il him amon^ 
the lirst of the dibtiniruished men who from vemr to Vtar 
met in the legislative halls. >»'o mutter what parly wai 
in power, he was chairman of the mobt imiK»rtaut com- 
mittees, most generally the judiciary, and o!\cn ttp|x>inicd 
on special committees, llih intluence, io the jt: ' - . nl of 
cotemporaries, was always equal to any in the 

As a legislator, he labored for the equal ri^'M* ol .. 
and to conform the action of civil government to the truo 
doctrines of democracy, and the principles of ! 

Christian morality. JIo wa.n ripjxjscd to all « \ 

monopolies, and to all legislation that gave one c . 
privileges above another. His entire U ive I 

is free from selfish ambition, and in general ac 
with the fundamental principles of right as reN .;. 

the Bible, the only source of true national prosiKrrity. 

He believed the tratVic in spiritous liquors, as a bcver- 
age, was a moral wrong, and on all occa..ionh voted to 
restrain the evil, by putting the price of lieenNe up to the 
highest possible sum, so as to prohibit it altogether lie 
warmly enlisted in the great Temperance Enterprise and 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 33 

gave it his influence and aid, as a legislator and a man, 
by precept and example. 

He voted against all lotteries, a species of legislation 
not then uncommon in the older States. In 1827, a bill wa8 
introduced to aid Ohio in her system of canal improve- 
ments ; the author of the bill affirming — -'That it was 
good policy, while the lotteries of other States were drain- 
ing specie from Ohio, the bill would have a tendency to 
bring some back. The city of Xew York," said he, '-would 
buy ten or fifteen thousand dollars worth of tickets." 

Mr. Morris, regarding it as immoral, and as compromi- 
sing the honor of the State, moved its rejection. " I ob- 
ject to it on the score of morality and policy. Suppose 
the gentleman's speech is printed in New York, what a 
happy tendency it would have to procure assistance for 
the construction of our canal. Their opinion of our re- 
sources would be greatly increased, when they perceived 
we had to resort to the pitiful expediency of a lottery, to 
raise funds to carry on our system of internal improve- 
ments. It was encouraging a species of gambling." The 
bill was rejected by a large majority. 

An eiiort was made during this session of legislature, 
to prohibit by penal legislation, the future immigration of 
blacks and mulattoes into Ohio. Faithful to the rights of 
man, he opposed the principles of the bill, as unjust, un- 
constitutional, and odious. It was rejected. 

This session also witnessed a strong effort to legislate 
on the rights of conscience. A bill for the support of 
common schools contained a clause that •' no teacher 
should teach any sectarian creed, catechism, confession of 
faith, etc., unless each person entitled to send to said 
school shall consent to the same; and any teacher viola- 
ting the provisions of this act shall be fined." 

Mr. Morris made an able speech against the bill, in 
which he advocated the great Protestant principle of the 



S4 LIFE OF SENATOR y O R E I S . 

freedom of the rights of conscience in reli^i<'''n ; nt 
speech contains tlie following pound clm-lnni-- 

"I meet these extraordinary provi^ionH. with ♦^'- ^•ro»J 
denial that we have any ])ower whatever to It- •• oo 

this subject. Tiie riirht of conwicnce is an i: -^^U 

right, for the exercise of which mun is not act "nuUii'i* 
toman: lie is accc^iintable to no power <»hort of ilia* 
his Creator. It is a rtlii^ious ri^'lil with which huinau 
laws have nothing; to do. The ri^ht of belief i« the right 
of the individual, not of the conununitv. Y- are, aa 

letjislators. about to sav that if unv indi- "1- 

master, shall undertake to teach wliat he bt ^ to bo 

just and right, he shall be sul>jcelfd to a j <i 

by the judicial officers of the law. an<l t - the 

plausible pretext of securing the r of c 

These rights of worship, these dictates *>t 
too pure, sublime and holy to be touche^l bv i 
lation. They do not need the siipfM>rt < t. 

and in all ca.ses where the secular 
ment have attempted to supjxirt. •; or in 

manner interfere therewith, - .1 of en 

rights to grow and flourish, it has t auM-ti ihem to wither, 
decay and die. The right of my neighbor to womhip hit 
Creator as his conscience dictates, is a right which Ic'- 
lation ought not to interfere with. It in hit) p. --■. 
place of worship, his place as a citizen while ci . m 

that worship, and not his religious faith, that oui ia»> can 
or ought to protect. 

In our country we have a great varied ui rciigioun 
sects. Presbyterians. Methodists. Baptists. E] - ' 

Quakers, Unitarians, and others, who have diilercui .* 

and confessions of faith; some believing in the Ui\,uQ 
atonement, and others believing that the Saviour of men 
was only '^ the way, the truth and the life; • «nd yet, ac- 
cording to this bill, our children are to be tauirht none of 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 35 

these doctrines in oiir schools, without making the instruc- 
tor liable to the penalty of this law. Suppose the pupil 
sliould have heard of the name of Jesus Christ, and should 
ask his instructor, who is Jesus Christ ? and the answer 
should be in the language of Scripture, ' The Son of God, 
the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, God made 
manifest in the flesh ;' who by his sufferings and death made 
an atonement for all men. This would be teaching sectarian 
principles within the meaning of this bill, because all do 
not believe in these fundamental doctrines of Christianity. 
Do the friends of this bill mean that the use of the Bible 
shall be prohibited in our schools ? That book is held by 
all denominations to be their only creed or confession of 
faith, and yet, by the princi]3les of this bill, under pre- 
text of securing the rights of conscience, teachers shall 
be subject to a fine for instructing their pupils out of the 
Bible, whence all profess to get their religious creeds. It 
is constituting the officers of the law the umpire, to de- 
cide what is, or is not, sectarian principles, and subjecting 
the conscience of the teacher to the power of legislation. 
Even parental authority strays beyond its proper bounds, 
when it shall be exercised ,to prohibit the child who has 
arrived at the years of discretion, from the examination 
of each and every sectarian creed and religious doctrine 
that he may wish. It is his duty to interpose Avith paren- 
tal advice, but not with coercive measures. 

"It is said that the law for the support of common 
schools, as it now stands, will compel the sect of Christ- 
ians called the Friends or Quakers, to aid in the support 
of schools to which they can not conscientiously send 
their children, and that this numerous and respectable 
body of Christians are worthy of legislative attention and 
care. As a legislator, I am not disposed to fasten my 
political car to the chariot of any particular Christian 
sect. I respect them all, and acknowledge with gratitude 
the beneficial effects of their labors upon, the lives and 



36 LIFE OF SENATOR MOBRIH. 

conduct of iiK'U : Imt as a l.L:i*.lal«>r. I >av lu tiic-m •• 
Christians, prol'c»>in<Xi»"y sctlarian (T' nn. c-alechiam, 

article or confession ff faith. I kn<«w you i ' ar« 

yours, and in the exercise thereof, a' i«-» U»i* dic- 

tates of your own conscience. I will, as h in 

power as a le<^islat«»r. provide that every - ' \i 

' may sit under your own vine and 

shall be suffered to make vou afraid : bm vt>ur • h 

and your faitli must not be u- ; 

from obedience to the mu rv ; 

nor can we give any of you a pre: •. 

'render to Cie>ar the ihinus that are < 

"As legislators, we have the rii:ht and it in 'nrdtitv to 
provide fur the 6uj)purt and r« _ , r,f y 

this right does not extend to any acta of . 
ing creeds or articles of religious faith, L... ^ 

the human intellect, preparing the >.<>,,,, ,;.,, .. . ,^. 

eration to become useful nii'mberi* *.; an-j i-j tbd 

general diffusion of know!' -■ - Liau\ r riry 

to a good government ; a ka.u vi oiaic property uc are 
bound to increase and cultivate with the most a ' ou 
care, as a means of giving jierpctuily lo our p..iiljra! 
institutions. 

'• I am willing to leave the government of our d t 

schools, in reference to the reading of creed?, f 
articles or confessions of faith, to the go<.d sound 
and sound discretion of the househ. ^ in each dintn. t 

It is the only safe depository of that i>ower. Virtue, 
public virtue, is the base upon which the Huper>trueture 
of our government is raised and must stand, and this is 
found among the people in largrr pn.pnnion than in the 
halls of legislation. Permit me to say to the Friends 
who ask for this special legislation, depart in j.cace Your 
religion needs not the support of human legislation • the 
weapons of your warfare are not carnal ; cultivate peace 
harmony and good will toward all men : he obedient to 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. '37 

the laws of your country, and those who are in authority 
over you ; overcome evil with good ; and by a holy life 
and an U23right walk and conversation, your children, the 
objects of your care, will be influenced and guided by 
your bright example, and their tender minds will receive 
more lasting and desirable impressions than can be made 
by the teacher of your district schools, though he be 
armed with all the sectarian creeds which the ingenuity, 
the ambition or the pride of man has ever invented." 
The bill was rejected. 

The statute book of Ohio, with many other States, was 
for years dishonored with a law that imprisoned a man 
for inability to pay his debts. This relic of barbarous 
legislation is now swept away by the progress of juster 
and more Christian views. For its extinction in Ohio, 
Mr. Morris labored with an earnest ability. On a bill for 
its abolishment, in the legislature, he made an able 
speech, from which the following extracts are made: 

'* The state of society at this day does not require the 
dogmas of superstition, the precepts of ignorance, nor 
the conveniences of despotism to compel the payment of 
debts. The force of moral sentiment, proj^erly cultivated 
and rightly directed, would be far more efl:ectual than all 
the bars and cells of your prisons. Abandon, then, this 
relic of oppression, this appeal to force for the collection 
of debts. When you do this, that moral principle, which 
has a thousand times more influence than your penal laws, 
will assume its place, and be safely relied on. From what 
principle do the great body of your citizens act in the 
payment of debts ? From the fear of your prisons ? IS^o ; 
from higher and more exalted motives ; from a love of 
truth and probity, from a desire to preserve a good name, 
which is more precious than gold, and more available in 
life than all the wealth this world can aflbrd. I hope, 
then, Ohio will put her hand in earnest, at this auspicious 
moment, to the good t»^ork. She is emphatically a free 



38 LIFE OF PUN A TOR M«'|ililS. 

State. Her Constitution declun-* that H" >ia\ all«S* 

ist within her borders, otherwise than for the rt; ..enl 

of crime; yet the worst of all .siaverr, iinpn- • ul for 
non-payment of debt, exists. Let 5t nn lonp^r di^r^rarc 
our ^tatute book. " 

As a legislator, he wa» not afraid to IruM li.< j- 
with all political power, and to trauAfer to them the 4 iw- 
tiun of every officer required in the adminiHtratiun ofth* 
government. In this ^n-at prin<iplc of a d« ritic 

government he was in advance of h 1 lio 

doctrine is now popular, to nuike uii 

of our courts, elected by the ] it wn i by 

Mr. Morri.s nearly thirty yearn ai:<», in the of 

Ohio 

In 1828, he brought in a bill in the S- v 

jurie^s before justices of the pea<-o. and in i* 1, 

"It is objected to this bill that _ :| 

be rendered almnsi as important aa j f«f th«» i. 

I fear this is the Mcret spring that ; r 

objections. This hankering alter |»ow<*r. ihiJ* dcaire to 
concentrate it in as few liands as j- . .e, this kind of 
judgt fconhip, is the most dangerous spirit abroad. It it 
not the ermine of the Bench that onght to attract oar no- 
lice, but justice, substantial justice; an'i all the ends of 
justice would be as well gained before justiewi of tb« 
peace, if we would allow them juries, an in our • » 

a higher grade." 

'Justice has a hiulur and more r m than hu- 

man legislation. It can not be found tn the dictum of 
judges, in the decrees of emperors, or in the maxims of 
laM-yers. Its best and only legitimat** f^tandard is traced 
by the finger of the Creator in the moral nature of every 
man ; and its motto is, - do unto all nu-n as you would have 
them to do unto you.' an<l the nearest we can approxi- 
mate to justice is through the medium of a trial by jury. 
The trial by jury is our security for the libcrtiaa w* 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 39 

enjoy, our protection and safety ; and hence it is political 
wisdom and sound policy to extend its benefits to all pos- 
sible cases. 

In 1829, he brought in a bill, that judges should not 
charge juries as to matter of facts, but may sum up the 
evidence and declare the law, and on it he presented 
some important rules in the administration of justice. 
"That jurors are judges of the facts, and courts of the 
law, are obvious truths, and to keep each within its proper 
sphere is the duty of the legislature. It is a clear depar- 
ture from duty in a judge, to undertake to explain and to 
instruct the jury as to the strength and applicability of 
the testimony. It is stepping beyond the limits of his 
own power, and an intrusion into that which the law has 
vested in a distinct, though component ])aYt of the court. 
In permitting the judge to forestall the opinion of jurors, 
as to the facts in the case, you deprive the citizen of the 
whole benefit intended to be secured by a trial by jury. 
You mock him with the shadow, while in truth you deny 
him the substance. Moreover, judges, though vested 
w^ith authority, are still men, subject to all the frailties, 
partialities and prejudices of other men." He had no 
faith in the infallibility of courts. 

lie labored, as a legislator, to keep the taxes as low as 
the necessity of the government would permit, and op- 
posed all extravagant expenditures of the public money. 
He held to the doctrine that legislation should be impar- 
tial, and if special favors were granted, the industrial 
classes should receive them. In 1812, he obtained the 
passage of a bill, " That each person who has a family 
shall be allowed to hold twelve sheep, also the wool, and 
the yarn cloth manufactured by such families, exempt 
from all executions for payment of debts. In 1828, he 
endeavored to obtain a law taxing all chartered institu- 
tions, and such manufactories as founderies. glass-houses, 



40 MFF, OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

mills and dislillerief. and oxompt nil h- in 

county from taxation. 

Ohio was the first western State to enter upc»n « ^v«. 
tem of internal improvements. CanaU were the c .^ , l3 
of State enterprise then, and in 1825, Ohio beiran the 
great work of the Oliio Canal, by which the water* of 
lake Erie and the Ohio river were to be united. Gov. 
De Witt CMinlun. of New York, •' ".-d aa the fathrr 

of internal iIn{)rovement^. wjlh .*iy invited to viaii 

Ohio, lie accepted the invitation, and on the 4th of 
Julv, 1625, the forty-ninth anniven»arv "f A • •• 

pendence, in the mid.'it of a vast multitude of rr ^« 

tic citizens, he made an addrens, and ;iliy ii anjura- 

ted the canal Pvstem near Newark, I. • 

Ohio and Erie canal wa.n mm] in IKil. is three hun- 

dred and nine miles loni;. and c<>«*t lh<» • :• • 

millions of dollars. Mr. Morris Btren d the 

Bvstem, in opposition to almost al! f»f the j . i. <<( 

the State, lie declared his eon*. f*f the impracti- 

cal nature of such a system to develop iho resources of 
the State, and which would involve a debt of many n ''- 
lions, which never could be paid off by the revenue fr- i.. 
the canal. '• I am an unbeliever," he Maid,'- in the visions 
of future wealth from the protit*« of the canal system. It 
would render the State insolvent." 

He made a prophecy which has been fully realired • In 
twenty-five years," he said. *• Ohio will I 1 with a 

net-work sy.Htem of railroads, and oanaN wiii Ik» superse- 
ded." Ohio has now 2 400 miles of road, tm- s the 
State in every direction. auirmentinK her wealth a i n 
fold. A confirmation of the prophecy and of 
Thomas Morris. 

An incident will illustrate the wonderful pr ; 

Ohio, and the present rapid transit over the ureu of the 
State, when compared with her condition twenty-fiv© 



LIFK OF SENATOR MORRIS. 



41 



years ago. At an adjournment of the legislature, in 
March, 1827, heavy rains had made the ordinary mud 
roads from the capital impassible for the stage, then in 
common use. The streams were overflowing their banks, 
rendering a homeward return of the members almost im- 
possible. Mr. Morris determined to conquer all obstacles. 
The Scioto river, on whose banks the capital of Ohio has 
stood for the past forty-five years, afforded an egress for 
some of the members. A canoe, or, in Western dialect, a 
dug-out, was made and put upon the rapid current of the 
swollen river, and Mr. Morris and Eobert T. Lytle, an 
eloquent and able representative from Hamilton county, 
embarked with their baggage in this water-craft for home. 
A passage of some hundred miles brought them to Ports- 
mouth, where the Scioto mingles its waters with the Ohio, 
and there, embarking on a small steamboat, they safely 
reached their homes, after a perilous journey of four days. 
The transit now, by railroad, from the capital to any part 
of Ohio, occupies but four hours. 



42 LIFK OF SENATOR MORRIS. 



CHAP T E li ^ 1 1 . 

Popular E<lucation — Collep « -^^^ (Vmni' r. ?^ hooU — Ad? 
Common School Svstom — : n of 1 « to GoTrramf-ni — 

Female Education — Cuiumijisioner of ih'- Konl — T&XAti ^n fir 

School Purposes — Opposition to it — Llx«9*« h I. 

Ohio has been, in her legislative h' * -v, (Jigt**^ ""•-'••'! 
for her zeal and success in the cause ui j.-j^uUr cuu« a 
One of her orfjanio laws was — •That $rho»U and tkt m<anM 
of instruction shn If forever hf ei ^ by If ' ' 

vision; and to promote, as an of ]»riiiiMrv im- 

portance, institutions for the di: » of kii 

through the medium of common ^< ' ' , the 

great effort of the legislation of Ohio. C i the 

higher grades of seminaries have n 1 her j^ 

supervision. Congress, in l>^o:i. d«.naled two • :•• 

of land for collegiate purp<.ses, and out of then* h«v« 
been erected two universities — the Ohio University. At 
Athens, and Miami Tniversity. at (' ii 

gifts from Congress, have been j. reserved and f !, 

but have never received any special endowment from the 
State. The establishment of a system of common ^ 
by taxation, was the great end of the legislation of Ohio, 
in respect to education. This was rightly rcganled ra 
indispensable to the well-being and liberties of the Sutc. 

Mr. Morris, during his whole legislative history, was an 
ardent and able friend of the common schools, and voted 
for the largest accumulation of a fund devoted to this 
great object. His views are presented, in brief extracU 
from his speeches on the subject. * 

"Our government," said he. in 1828, -is a beautiful 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 43 

machinery made up not of parts, but of the whole body 
of the people. It requires, therefore, not the aid of a few, 
but the aid of all to keep it in motion. To do this, every 
citizen must understand all its parts and all its movements. 
He must possess knowledge, virtue, and intelligence; 
because, in the language of our own Constitution, they 
are essentially necessary to good government and the 
happiness of the people. To provide means for the 
instruction of all is, then, a duty that devolves on those 
who are called to administer the government. This is 
not only necessary to the safety and correct administra- 
tion of the government, but for the happiness of the 
people. Let us, then, be faithful to this great duty, so 
that to the praise and honor of this generation, let the 
next say, that there is not one among them who is not 
able to read the Constitution of his country. This will 
preserve the Constitution more eeciirely than walls of ada- 
mant or temples of brass. Let us not, either, overlook 
female education. The advancement of the female cha- 
racter, and the instruction and cultivation which woman 
receives, has always been justly viewed as evidence of 
the improved state of society where it exists. It is, there- 
fore, an indispensable duty to provide for female educa- 
tion ; for knowledge is the handmaid of virtue, prudence, 
and economy; and where female virtue, knowledge, and 
intelligence abound, man can never be degraded or a 
slave." 

The salt lands in the Scioto Yalley were, by Congress, 
given to Ohio for literary purposes. In 1826, an effort 
was made in the legislature to apply the proceeds of these 
lands to colleges. Mr. Morris said — "These lands were 
ours for literary purposes, the proceeds to be devoted to 
the common school fund. The grant of Congress is 
broad, arid will admit the appropriation to be made for 
the improvement of the human mind. Sound policy dic- 
tates that we should apply them to the common school 



44 LIFK OF SI:N ATOR MORBI*. 

fuiKl. since we have the riffht to do ^ I mnM solemnly 
protcfit ac^ainst applyinir them to in the prc»^nl 

situation of the State. The ^i ' ' " ' 

the people is UrM to i^ rfgardr*^ . W c ale ImI*! tltMt « 
iniist be cncourasrc'fl, in onhr to r; '.vers una 

statesmen, and le::i!»hit«.»i>. ^\ i.at in »iiis bul \: a 

considerable j»art of the wuy toward r-t- 

eian chiss. from whielj. tl»M».e who an " tho 

government are only to he eho^-n. Il thi** wore an Ag# 
of monkish itrnorance. and it wen* i ■ • 

priviletred order, llu-n we shouhl thn»w our ft 

fund for their support. Hut thi> \» i. Wo 

have undertaken to dit^'use knowI«"lir»» : 0, 

and to the aeeomplishnient of th . \y 

to direct all our attention. ' 

In his own county, he was active in h'^ effortu t«« *.nild 

up a fund fur tlie support of common .- .* He I .<hi 

the funds, appropriated to Cler"" '^^ r...... tV,. v;...... 

treasury, and for several yean*, a- ;■■. *.- * .-iniu r 

of the County School Funds. In hrv -■- ^ the ^niool 
Fund into existence, he says. -I well knew mat I wan in- 
curring great personal responsibility. C • c- 
titude of my intentions, and the purity ofmv i, . I 
much gratitied that the day has arrived in which a disin- 
terested tribunal, under the authority of 1 ,h 
evidence of my integrity in this whole n i i..ive 
now fulfilled the task I imposed on my.seli. and which I 
have long liad in view, to establish the means bv which 
the entire youth of this county should . e a ( n 
school education. Having laid the foundation of a 1 .r 
that purpose, and given to it all the security, system and 
order of which I was oapalde. I yield up m'v tn,«f nnder 
the grateful conviction, that mv agency, in nnij 
the School Fund of Clermont county. U among the best 
acts I have ever been able to perform for the cii.renH of 
the couutv." 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 45 

Believing that popular education was the shield of free 
institutions, giving to the national structure, solidity and 
perpetuity, and developing the elements of national pros- 
perity and greatness — Mr. Morris, in the legislature of 
Ohio, earnestly advocated taxation for school purposes. 
Taxation is to carry on the functions of civil government, 
and intelligence and virtue being essential to the opera- 
tions and very existence of free governments, it is the first 
duty of a free people to tax themselves for the support of 
universal education. Colleges, seminaries, and common 
schools are nobler fruits of taxation than penitentiaries, 
jails and poor houses. If the former are not founded and 
fostered by taxation, the latter must be, for an uncultiva- 
ted people must be a vicious people. 

Among some portions of the American people formerly, 
there was an unwillingness to be taxed for the support of 
common schools. In Ohio, opposition to this taxation 
was manifested. '• Fortunately," says John P. Foote, in 
his work on " The schools of Cincinnati," " men of intel- 
ligence, zeal, and industry, from ditfcrent States, who knew 
the value of common schools, and their special necessity 
in a State with such an ultra Democratic Constitution, as 
was the first Constitution of Ohio— were fixed in their de- 
termination never to cease their efforts to obtain for the 
State a system of free schools, until it should be successful, 
and free schools be among the established institutions of 
the State. They succeeded in spite of much opposition, 
and more lukewarmness, and now the system is firmly 
fixed in the affections of the people of Ohio, and is con- 
sidered by them as indispensable an element of their 
liberties, and guardian of our free institutions as the trial 
by jury, the freedom of the press, or the elective fran- 
chise." 

As a legislator, Mr. Morris was among the most active 
and earnest in maintaining the doctrine of taxation for 
education, and in establishing and perfecting a system of 



46 LIFE or 8EXAT0R MORRIS 

common schools in Ohio. This inea«ur« WM met with 
much opposition in his own county, and in ono cnnv*.**. h<» 
lost his election f<jr State Senator, mainly for his su< 
ful efforts in this matter. 

Clermont county never had a more ahli*. I • and 

faithful public servant, and their :i 

and fidelity i.s demonstrated in hiH : nl n 'in. 

He represented the same oonHtituenoy f<»r twoi ur 

years, seventeen of them c( a riure fact iq th« 

ceaseless changes to which public men at© liable, under 
Democratic institutions. 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 47 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Impeachment of Judges — Morris appointed to conduct the Trial — A Se- 
lect Committee on Vermont Resolutions in 1809 — A Select Committee, 
in 1810, on the Measures of the General Government — Supports the 
War in 1812 — South Carolina Nullification in 1832 — Morris a Select 
Committee — His Resolutions — Letter of Judge McLean — Report on 
Colonization. 

In 1S08-9, the Legislature of Ohio preferred articles of 
impeachment against Calvin Pease and John Tod, two of 
the judges of Ohio, for an alleged unconstitutional inter- 
ference with the powers and duties of justices of the 
peace, to whom jurisdiction in cases not exceeding twenty- 
dollars, was given. This was decided unconstitutional by 
Judge Pease, of the District Court, and confirmed by 
Judges Huntington and Tod, a majority of the Supreme 
Court. This decision was made in view of the seventh 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 
which declares that "In suits at common law, where the 
value in controversy shall exceed twenty^ dollars, the 
right of trial by jury shall be preserved," and the eighth 
section of article eighth, which declares that " the right 
of trial by jury shall be inviolate." The substance of the 
impeachment charged that Judge Pease had, on various 
occasions, decided that the Court had full power to set 
aside, suspend and declare null and void any act of the 
vState legislature, and that this had been done by the judge, 
in declaring null and void the act defining the duties of 
justices of peace. On this ground the impeachment was 
made by the House of Representatives, and the judges tried 
before the bar of the Senate. Thomas Morris was ap- 
pointed to conduct the impeachment on the part of the 



48 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

House ; and the historical record shows that h. ' rmed 
the duty with ability. In this F ''^•- 

ture also procuicd the aid of Judije iiaidwin, of i'ilt#- 
burgh, a distinguished lawyer, and for "» 

of the justices of the Supreme Court of the I i. 
After a protracted trial, the impeacl»ni«nt w 
tained, the Constitution requiring two-thirda of 
ate to sustain. 

The ability with which Mr. M<»rr.^ ;^v« 

trial, as a lawyer and leader of the II l*- 

tiyes, secured for him, in 1809, his i -e of lh« 

Supreme Judges of Ohio, but by a - "-^nt met of the 

legislature, called the "Sweeping A. ;-, ..» ^^•'<- r.r. v<»n- 
ted from taking his seat. 

In 1809-10, ro.'iolutions were sent from V-— -- 1.^ i-j ib« 
legislature of Ohio, pro]' ' to amend the cuustitution 
of the United States, so as lo remove ' *' '' ourt« 

of the United States u|>on th- <>C 

the House of Kepnsentatives and in*«»-ii 
ate. Mr. Morris was appointed a nolect « o 

Vermont resolutions, and reported that : 

The General Assembly of the State of ' i»i;iiil 

public otlices as belonging to i o. an<l they having 

a riffht to bestow them as they may or : ihul 

the officers in every department of th' 
to be amenable to them for tlu'ir c< . » 

as all government is estai \ for tlie . I 

welfare of the people, therefore, when any pui . .1 

ceases to merit their approbation, they have at all time« 
the right to withdraw their confidence, and bestow it on 
such others as they may deem fit. Therefore, our S<»na- 
tors in Congress are instructed, and the members of the 
House requested, to propose this amendment to the Con- 
stitution of the United States." 

In 1810, Mr. Morris, appointed a Committee on the 
measures of the General Government, reported aa followa: 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 40; 

" Resolved, hy the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, 
That our political safety depends on our attachment to, 
and continuance in our federal relations with our sister 
States, and we pledge ourselves to the General Govern- 
ment to support the union of the States to the utmost of 
our power ; and believing as we do, that the measures of 
the General Government are directed by sound policy, and 
with the welfare of all in view, we hesitate not to say, 
that Ohio will be found ever ready to support such meas- 
ures as Congress ma^^ direct for securing our rights, sove- 
reignty and independence." 

Mr. Madison was then President, and war with Great 
Britain was anticipated, and was declared by Congress 
in 1812. Mr. Morris was a strenuous advocate of that 
war, and during its continuance was a member of the 
legislature of Ohio, and on committees which reported 
such resolutions as this, which the legislature adopted : 
'' Resolved^ That this General Assembly pledge themselves 
to their country, and with all their means and energies 
to aid in thi vigorous prosecution of the present just and 
necessary war, until a safe and honorable peace can be 
obtained." Peace was concluded in 1815. 

In 1832, South Carolina, aggrieved, as she declared, on 
account of oppressive tariff measures by the General 
Government, threatened a nullification of the law, and 
resistance to the authority of the General Government. 
President Jackson issued his proclamation, a very able 
State paper, warning them to desist from their treasona- 
ble course. Great political excitement and fears pervaded 
the country. The different States, by their legislatures 
passed resolutions generally approving the measures of 
the General Government. Ohio threw her influence on 
the side of the General Government. Mr. Morris, theu a 
member of the Senate, was appoi;ited a select committee, 
to whom was referred " the ordinance of the Convention 
5 



50 LIF£ OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

of the people of South Carolina, ' aiul rciM>rto<1 ihe fol- 
lo'wing resolutions: 

'' Resolvtil, hy the Grntral AisemHy vf th ^ ft of ' 
That we view with the deepest rc^cl tho nnhnppy more- 
ments and apparent determination of th 

Carolina to nullify the laws of the Gener. nt, 

made in conformity to the Constitution of th(> fnitwi 

States. 

''Resolved, That iho Federal Union er'-»* in ft »oli<l 
compact entered into by the voluntary •♦ ''each 

and every State ; and that therefore no j^iaic tau claim 
the riLrlit to eeced*' from or violate that r ' '^t ; and 
however grievous may ho the Hir <! or rcai Dur*' 

of the State, the onlv h'lritimat*' i. ". in in the \m»«» 
and faithful exercise of the ■ " '■ 

soleniTi reH}>onsihility of the puhiic ; 

'- Resolved, That tin- d«<trine that a Slato ha.«* the power 
to nullify a law of the General nt, in rcvolo. 

tionarv in its character, and i^. in it« nature, calculated 
to overthrow the groat tomple v»f Annriran lihtTt%*: and 
that --urh a course can not absolve that . 
the ])eople owe to the supremacy of tho 

•Resolved, That in levying and _» dntiea. im- 

posts and excises, while the general gfK»d ..d be iho 

primary object, a special regard should 1m? had to th© end ; 
that the interest and prosperity of cver>- section of the 
country should be equally consulted, and its burdens 
proportionably distributed. 

" Resolved, That the first object of the American | 
should be to cherish the most ardent attachment lo Wio 
Constitution and laws of the Union; and, as a fin«t and 
paramount object of a free ])eople. we should use every 
laudable means to preserve the Union «>f these States 

''Resolved, That we will supj)ort the General Govern- 
ment in all its; Constitutional measures to maintain peace 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 51 

and harmony between the several States, and i)reserve 
the honor and integrity of the Union." 

During the agitation of this subject in the legislature 
of Ohio, John McLean, then and now an able and upright 
Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, whose 
private life and civic services have ornamented the history 
of Ohio and the nation, wrote to Mr. Morris the following 
patriotic letter. It shows the feeling that pervaded the 
minds of public men at that crisis. 

Washington, 23d January, 1833. 

Dear Sir — 1 have not yet seen any expression of our 
legislature respecting the movements of South Carolina, 
and the steps taken by the President to counteract those 
movements. It is not my intention or wish to indicate 
any opinion upon the subject, further than to say — if 
you should act, I hope you will recommend forbearance 
on the part of the Federal Government. I do not mean 
by this, that there should be no action on the part of 
the General Government ; but I wish to see the law 
take its ordinary course, without any extraordinary 
preparation to enforce it; and I should deprecate the 
employment of force, except to give effect to the laws, 
by aiding the proper officers of the courts in the service 
of their process. This will give time to our erring fel- 
low citizens of South Carolina to reflect on their course, 
and this, I should hope, would bring them to a sense of 
their duty. 

The Proclamation has had the effect in the South, 
which I had no doubt from the first, it would have, to 
exasperate the people of South Carolina, and greatly 
strengthen their cause in Virginia and the other Southern 
States. The late message will, I fear, increase this feel- 
ing. Do not understand me as questioning the motives 
which led to these measures, or as excusing, in any de- 
gree, the consequences which have followed them. Both 



52 LIFE OK SENATOR MORRIS. 

measures should liave produced very different effects; but 
^ve must, in anticipating results, eunnider men •^•«\v 

are, not as they shouhl l>c. 

General Jackson has tcreat populaniy in ' uiu. and 

on this ground alone, I do not see how any one i^n r • 

his re-election, liut there is danger of U*o B 
I have more fears from this, than from the 
tutional edicts of Soutli < ^ . a- i : 

opposed to their principles, I hml rathor M'e the ' 
suspended in that State, for a 

of blood should be spilt. From t :i no 1 

injury could result to the I'nion. and the i 
who had obstructed the law wuuUi hv fvenlually hiid 
responsible to the countr>-. and to individtia!-* whu had 
suffered damage ; but if the Fctleral i nuet 

in conflict those of South Carolina, I >.... , — r of e\cr 

seeing harmony restored. A cai*o may in which m 

resort to physical force may be nr •— •. 'niniit • part 

of our fellow citizens, but nothing mi-.h ui luc revolution 
of the country should justify such a procedure. 

Suppose, during the lute war. an army had Uin 
marched against 3Ia--'a< li and the liiirtf«»rd (' 

vention, what would have bevu the < 1 i.«- 

Union would have been diiM«olv> ( >i ihia nu uuo can 
douj^t, who took u part in the political a« tion of that ti i • 
Mild measures wer« pursue<l, and no extv uarv i 

of the Government was directed again»*t any of the i 
tory States. Time was given for reflection, and publio 
sentiment applied the neccswiry correction. 

A bill is now before the Senate, which, if it fihall 
become a law in its ]»resent shape. 1 l. ar may i»r^»<luco 
much mischief. If we shall W urged on by ft-. - of 

resentment, and in the exercise of extraordinary jM.wers 
attempt to cru>sh the State of South Carolina, there will 
be an end of our Government in a short time. I tremble 
at the gulf whith lies before us Shull thin j(loriou§ 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 53 

heritage which is the admiration of the world, and our 
greatest pride, be destroyed ? I assure you, our govern- 
ment is in danger, and we should all contribute our best 
efforts to preserve it. With great respect, yours, 

JOHK McLEAN. 
Hon. T. Morris. 

report on colonization. 

During the session of the legislature, in 1831-2, numer- 
ous petitions were presented, asking appropriations for 
the purpose of colonizing the free people of color in 
Ohio, in the Eepublic of Liberia, on the coast of Africa. 
Mr. Morris was appointed a select committee on that sub- 
ject, and reported the preamble and resolutions here 
inserted. The colonization scheme may accomplish a good 
work in the illumination and regeneration of Africa, but 
as a remedy for the evils of American slavery, is vision- 
ary. Emancipation on the soil of the United States, or 
perpetual slavery, is the only alternative. Mr. Morris, 
in his efforts against slavery and the slave power of 
the country, during the latter years of his life, neither 
attacked nor defended the colonization scheme. 

Mr. Morris, from the Committee appointed for that 
purpose, reported the folloAving 

PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS, 

ON THE SUBJECT OF THE COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 

Although we believe the existence of slavery in these 
United States is a moral evil, as well as a national calam- 
ity, and we recognize to its fullest extent the doctrine 
that all men are created equal, " That they are endowed 
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that 
amontr these are life, liberty and the pursuit of hap- 
piNEss," ai)d that it is the duty of every citizen o-^ * 
United States to aid, as far as his situation w^\' ^^ ^ ' 
bly permit, in extending these inestimable^ 



54 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

the colored population of our country. Thii Generml 
Assembly can not for a moment entertain th- • it 

slavery, which is undoubtedly our jjrratc-'t i n, 

has Vjcen the consequence of any paf k- 

lion, or that it oui^ht to be view ^ a local, and not a 

general niisfurtune; the cur>e Ih ujMjn u» all. and it in now 
vain and useless to in()uire by what i. it w: -t 

introduced. The Stat*-, iji tht- nd<»} f tho • 

pact, recoijnize slaver} of 

things, by declaring that ' , it 

the migration to, or impnrtali«>n of. any pcnw>n into nnv 
of the States then existing, as they should think pre 
prior to the year 1M»8 ; and also by further decU*-"- ' •....; 
no person held to 8er\*iee or labor in any State, u.,,, * the 
laws thereof, should, by .-•.•.;•' :..♦> nuy , .1. .- =^'ato, be 
discharged from such wi . -. . - i >nu'jt, in t ^ 

any law or regulation therein; but h^ ' i i>c 
up on the claim of the party to wl * ' r or - 

vice was due. 

Although Ohio is empha- a ir. .e ter- 

ritory and climate have never U' 

withering influence of slavery o,. 

improvement of hersoil been extorted from the unu 
hand of the laborer— yet wed :» all ridit to 

between the slave and his owner in a j d view of 

the subject, nor will we inquire into the poliev or - f 

the laws of our sister States. whi(h ack'n- .. 

existence of slavery. It the. : Ohio 

to know that any portion of the human familv are suf- 
fering from the existence of slaverv or any other cau«A 
to induce them to lend their aid as far a.s the dictaten <,i 

prudence and humanity shall require, without •♦ •.-- 

to examine whether they are under nnv \ocr.u.. ( ^^. ^. 

1 obligation to do so. 

'^"^reral Assembly are not insensible to the horror 
'iding scenes that must ensue from servile 



LIFE or SENATOR MORRIS. 55 

war waged by the colored population of our country, and 
should it by any possibility prove successful in the slave- 
holding States, that the peace of our own firesides, and 
the repose of our citizens would soon be assailed by the 
fell destroyer. Such w^ar could admit of no prelude, it 
would not be a war of conquest, but of extermination of 
one or the other race, including all ages, sexes and condi- 
tions. This General Assembly believe that no man, who 
reflects seriously on the subject, can entertain the idea 
that domestic slavery, in this countr}^, under the influence 
of our free institutions, can be perpetual; but that the 
time is not far in advance when it must terminate, either 
by the terrible scourge of insurrection, or by the wisdom, 
justice and liberality of our people. 

To preserve this favored land from the punishment 
which justice demands for this, her National sin. Provi- 
dence in the Colonization Society, has opened to us a door 
of hope. To the oppressed it is the pillar of fire and the 
cloud that leads to the land of their fathers ; and it has 
begun the good work in our own land, and laid the found- 
ation of a system Avhich, if its operations could be com- 
mensurate to the object, would not only free our country 
from the alarming crisis to which she seems fast hasten- 
ing, but would also restore to the indubitable rights of 
man and the country of their fathers, the long oppressed 
sons of Africa. And we believe that not only justice, 
duty and the honor of our people, demand that we should 
lend a helping hand to assist that society in the great uu- 
dertaking; but that the safety and prosj^erity of our coun- 
try, imperiously require that the government of the United 
States should take the subject under their consideration, 
and afl'ord such additional aid as may be in its power. 

It is hoped and sincerely believed, that the opinion of 
this General Assembly, on the diflicult and important 
question of freeing our country from its colored popula- 
tion, will not bo considered as obtrusive, but received with 



66 LIPS OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

the same 8]>irit ol aiieclioa ami ri'u'anl uiili which a ui 

offered. 

.VII iiiusL bo aware ol'the uce<l ui an early ;. i t<» tlim 

matter, ami that time will bo in- 

and althoii«^h \\c have been a I to r- 

Bhockin^ to humanity, yet it in :i 

that it liaM been at a time well ni 

exertions of our t'l-Uow eit 

with foreitcn powen*. ami her r» .mt« 

witli the ()l)j« (t to be attaimd 

It iH, therefore. seriou>*ly ri« Itothj* cv an 

well as the government of the Unittnl ,^ .. tT it 

in n.tt worthy of the attention of Con^rcM. ai» well m^ the 
different State Ie^i»*latnre>«. to »v»' > d their <•"■• ••• ' <"-- 
terinj^ hand to the benevolent » -f the i ...uAiiiiuii 

Society, by affording peeuniarj - - and the mcann 

of transportation, to all frov j - ^h ui ttdor who arc ' 
ling to emigrate to Liberia. ini.H would not oi ' ' 
act of naked justiee to thi8 long « - 

but Becmn to be re<|uire<l a** the <»nly if 

the shedding of human bloo<i, and n,H n i ,ur« 

for tJK' siMurity of ourselv 1 our 

i?fw>/tW, thcrr/orr. That tin* benevolent e of the 

American Colonization - entilletl to the a|.: 

bation of the government and p«M.pUM)f the I'nit- 
and that our Senators and ]^epresintativ»«« nro <{ 

to use their influence to bring this qii .,. 

tion of Congress, and to pn-vail u|M,n that i,,pt 

such measures as may be within tln-ir C<instituttonal jhiw- 
ers, for the removal of the e i populati. . :. m the 

several States in the Cnion.and their si>ttlement in LilK-ria. 
Nrsfjhed That should Congress doubt their jiower to 
make apj.ropriations of money from the national tre:i 
sury for that i)urpuse. it is recommended that the Coi.mi 
tution of the United States 1- ^o amended an to give such 
power. 



.11 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 57 

Resolved, That we recommend to the citizens of this 
State to form Colonization Societies in their different set- 
tlements and neighborhoods, and make such yearly con- 
tributions as may reasonably be within their power in aid 
of tbe parent society 

Resolved, That the Governor pay out of his contingent 
fund the sum of one thousand dollars, to aid the Coloni- 
zation Society to remove to Liberia any persons of color 
now residents of this State, and who shall apply to the 
Governor and obtain his certificate for that purpose, until 
the amount shall be expended according to the rules and 
regulations of the Society. 

Resolved, That it is hereby recommended to the colored 
male population residing in this State, to meet in their 
respective settlements or neighborhoods, and choose one 
or more of their number to meet in convention at Colum- 
bus, on the fourth day of July next, for the purj)ose of 
selecting some person of color to go to Liberia, to exam- 
ine the country, and to report to them on his return, its 
advantages or disadvantages as a place of settlement for 
the colored people, with such other facts as he may be 
instructed to inquire into by the Colonization Society ; 
and should such person be so selected as shall be approved 
by the Governor, his expenses shall be paid out of the 
Governor's contingent fund; and that such person jn'oceed 
to Liberia and return, under the order and protection of 
the American Colonization Societv. 



58 LIFE or SENATOR MORRIi. 



n:\ V. ^,.A .V* - 


• ' n xhm 




' t»s» 




r ' • 


.ten— L 





CIIAPTEK IX 

IIis Radical Democracy — LvarucJ !r 
Democratic School — Not a P-- »• ! 
Doctrines of True IV ii.r. r i - 
tion of United Si.r ~ 
1832— Hig Election Greeted with E 
Wood— Resolution Rg&insl the Uai: 'Wuik— Leiur ' *« %*k» 

ington City. 

The political creed of Thomas Morri •• - - lit^llv ti...,. 
ocratic. True Democracy is the crvaii-a ^ji a tm© *, uii-?- 
tiaiiity. and shields the riphtH and int- 'of ercrr man. 
"It is a sentiment not to be appalh 
promised. It knows no ba -. u* r 

it oppresses no weakness. Fcuri- «% 

it rebukes arrogance, chei ■ <* 

with the humble. It is a >«'miin« ni of ; of equal 

rights, of equal obligations. It is the la v i nature and 
of the Bible pervading the law of the 1.. In tlit- ap- 

plication of its doctrines, and in its p: 
ments, it will consecrate forever to : tho »»^il of 

everv country, and •• unbind everv bunU-n. i»r. 
ance to every captive, and let the oppressc<l of all i ..t 
go free." 

It Avas wiih the true iV'mocracv that Thomas Morria 
was in principle, in every impulse and effort of his life 
identiticd. He received his tirst lessons in the home-school 
of his mother, and in youth and manhood, from t'- ■-■ who 
were regarded as the oracles and apostles of D- . v 

He was a disciple in the Jetlersonian school oi puuuca. 
In 1829, he said -' in the election of Mr. JellVrson, we havo 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 59 

the first evidence of the power of that vital principle of 
libert}^ contained in the Constitution of the United States. 
Under his administration the great principles of civil and 
Constitutional liberty produced their desired effect. The 
administration of Jefferson will be viewed as the true re- 
publican standard for the government of the United States 
in ages to come." 

His hatred to slavery was intensified from the lessons 
of Jefferson. " Who taught me," said he, in the Senate of 
the United States, " to hate slavery and every other op- 
pression? Jefferson, the great and good Jefferson! yes, 
Yirginia Senators, it was your own Jefferson, Yirginia's 
favorite son, who did more for the natural liberty of man- 
kind, and the civil liberty of his country, than any man 
who ever lived in our country — it was he who taught me 
to hate slavery ; it was in his school I was brought up. If 
I am, sir, an Abolitionist, Jefferson made me one ; and I 
onlv res-ret that the disciple should be so far behind the 
master both in doctrine and practice." 

His love of, and devotion to true Democracy was a 
passion of his soul, rooted and grounded in his nature. 
"He was called a partisan ; but he only seemed so to his 
political opponents. His fearless independence, and his 
fidelity to the moral and political convictions of his nature, 
rendered him constitutionally incapable of working in the 
traces of party. It was only when they sustained the 
principles which he believed and loved, that he sympa- 
thized with them and advocated their measures. There 
was an independent, straightforward determination to go 
for his principles, which allowed no compromise with his 
opponents, and no communion with temporizing friends." 
'• I follow party," said he, " where the Constitution and 
principle lead, and where men attempt to take their 
place, I halt. I choose to rely on the Constitution and 
that moral principle^ Avhich ought to govern the actions of 
men in all situations and under all circumstances." 



60 LIFEOFSENATOB M0BBI8. 

'■' His plain, direct, honest and ]•. • advixjicy of 

the principles of the liomocmti' i 

upon the minds of the jK-oplc and j i to m.- 

tuin tlie measures of his jiarty. Kor a h of time he 

seemed to be tJil' j)residintr •' the 1 ' 

in Oliio. AiCiiinf^t him v, nf th»' < ; 

position, and uj)on him were the ov«-< '»f ti 
as the great champion of tlieir « . it wju* in t 

Senate of the Tnited Slates that Ti Morrifi proved 

himself, not a man for his party, but a man for hit cnr try. 
Disdaining to wear the shackles of a party, and ir • I 

that the leaders of the Democracy -' > ' » • • ' » •» , ., 1^,-, ^i 
to the yoke of the slaveholdin - . nv Mi^ud in lh« 

august Senate of the Uniloil SuiLc-, t; ' champion 

of universal freedom to man." 

His able and fearless devotion u> iho •: 
Democracy made him popular with ih^ In i^J.. 

the Democratic jmrty tondert-d him iho i. on of 

Tnited Stales Senator, in op »n to Judifc Hunu-t. 

but the party being in the minority, ho d. d In 

on the 15tli day of DecemWr. the I), 
him in nomination, and he was . .r in ■ 

gress, for six years. The fall pre-. ho wn^ T>ut in 

nomination by the Democratic party, in hid .. t. for 

Kcprosentative in Congress, but ow'ii,- to a division in 
the party, by an indeprndtiit !»• ,c mnd- »... 

Avas defeated, in a popuhir vote of G27«; by LV.. 

His election as Senator, was haiUnl by the I)eii...iatic 
party in Ohio, with hearty and general approbati.,n. The 
organ ot the party at the Capitol of the Stale ^:vA To 

the republican cause of Ohio, it is cheering to rctlrcl that 
a gentleman of his known firmness, hiijh order of 
talents and great experience, ha« weathered the ivditieal 
Btorm. and succeede.l in an election to a station where his 
ability and faithfulness will find ample .cope for futuro 
usctulness to his country." 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 61 

Another leading Democratic organ declared on his 
election, that "Mr. Morris is the only Senator Ohio has 
had for a long time, who firmly held the pure Democratic 
faith, of a strict construction of the Constitution of the 
United States, and open war against all peculiar privi- 
leges and monopolies." 

Eeuben Wood, a distinguished Democrat, honored with 
the governorshij), and Supreme Judge, of Ohio, and long the 
personal and political friend of Mr. Morris, on his election 
to the Senatorship, wrote : "Permit me to say, and I do 
not intend it as a common-place remark, that I most sin- 
cerely congratulate, not only yourself, but the Democratic 
party, on your re-election to fill the highest, most respon- 
sible, and at this peculiar crisis — the most difficult and 
important office in the gift of the Legislature. The Dem- 
ocracy of Ohio, may safely rely on being faithfully and 
fearlessly represented in the Senate of the United States ; 
and my sincere wishes are, that the Democracy of the 
State, hereafter, may keep that ascendancy which it has 
cost so much strife and exertion to obtain, and, at a future 
period, again will be willing to reward you with the 
continuance of its approbation and confidence." 

At that period, subsequent to his election, on the 8th 
of January, 1832, the Democratic party held their State 
Convention. In that convention, Mr. Morris offered a 
strong resolution against the Eank of the United States, 
which, after a stormy debate, was adopted. A prominent 
member of the party, then holding a high office at Wash- 
ington, wrote, after the adjournment of the convention, to 
Mr. Morris, as follows: "I do not hesitate to say, that 
you merit the gratitude and the patronage of the whole 
Democratic party of the country, for your prompt, active, 
decisive and truly republican course in that convention 
of Ohio, on that trying and critical occasion ; and for 
which you ought to receive the thanks of the party, and 



62 MFE or SENATOR MORHS. 

the ]>ati(>napo an«I lavor of iho (fovornmoiil. It j..,-^a 

Ohio in tlie tVoiit rank of the Deniocr •■ » ■ ♦* '^' nntn*. 

and redeems her character from the iinj- * ,iiiMi vi btfing^ 
governed by the influeuce of a MouioU Muno|)o|y, «>r the 
arrogance of a ihjinineerini; arif«t ^ ' ♦ iljio 

nhows tliat the old Democratic party ui : ♦. 

trust to tlie counsels of /ontarti. i* " 
"without experience, who present t r».' 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS 63 



CHAPTER XX. 

Takes his seat in the Senate— Slavery— Anti-slavery Sentiment of the 
Revolution — Opinions of Madison — Jefferson — Tatrick Henry— John 
Jay _ Washington — Franklin — Lafayette — Abolition Societies, in 
1787— Thanks of Congress to an Abolition Society— Reaction in Public 
Sentiment— Slavery, the Ruling Power— The Causes of Reaction 

Mr. Morris took his seat in the Senate of the United 
States, on the opening of the session, in December, 1833. 
During his Senatorial service, he became identified with 
the growing anti-slavery movements against the extension 
and the aggressions of the slave power ; it will be proper, 
therefore, to review, briefly, the history and struggles of 
freedom, in opposition to slavery, and to record the sen- 
timents of the patriots and statesmen of the Eevolution, 
on this engrossing national subject. 

It w^as the aim of the great and good men, who inaugu- 
rated and established the civil government and political 
institutions of the United States, as declared in the Con- 
stitution they formed—" To establish justice, promote the 
general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty." The 
rights of man, and the principle of universal freedom, 
had a public and solemn enunciation, in the Declaration 
of Independence, wherein it was stated — '• That all men 
are created free and equal, and endowed b}^ their Creator 
with certain inalienable rights, among which are, life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Freedom, and 
not slavery, was the object for which the patriots and 
statesmen of the Eevolution drew the sword, and labored 
to extend and establish. They found the system of 
slavery in existence ; but they contemplated, not its 



CA LIKE OF SFNATOR M O B R 1 8 . 

tjxpausion, but il8 hpeedy extinction. The Cooi«titutional 
records of the coiintr}' not only prove thit* to have bo<»n 
their great purpose am! most ardent wisli; but their 
repeated declarations testily, that IKfdoni wa* National 
and shivery Sectionah and to yield m>on to the upread of 
universal liberty. This recnjrd is \v«»rt!iv to l>c read, and 
freshlv remembered, ]»y overv A ' ■ ' 

taught to every American child, lui ihv f^ciiUitieul ul 
freedom shall be the ruling sfntinient of tho nation. T.« t 
these declaratioDS have a now r i. and a re -I K ^n 

these pages. 

Madison, the father of the C — '• 1 -ht it 

wrong to admit in the C'onbtitulion the idea that there 
could be property in man 1 to tho word §imw% 

a})])earing in a Constitution whi<h I truAt i«« t^ be tbe 
charter of freedom to unl)orn i: :.»; nor ■• i I will* 

ingly j)erpetuate the memory of the fact that slavery ever 
existed in our country. It i.<* a great evil, and under tho 
Providence of (iod, 1 look forward to nome i»cheme of 
emancipation which shall free us frf»m it. Do not. tliere- 
fore, let us appear a« if we regarded it per|>etual, by 
using in our free Constitution an o<lious word op)>0(iod to 
every sentiment of liberty. ' 

Jefferson, the great apostle of Dcn^ -(.racy, dn lured — 
"The way I hope, is preparing under t' ie«» of 

heaven, for n total emancipation. The hour oi i Uiiincipa- 
tion is advancing in tlie march of time. Thia onierpriac 
is for the young, for those who can follow it up, and bear 
it through to its consummation. It hhull have all my 
prayers, and these are the only weapoub of an old man. 
AMiat execrations should the statesman be 1 with, 

who permitting one half the citizens thus to trample OA 
the rights of the other, transforms the one into de«»poU 
and the other into enemies, destroying the moraU of one 
part, and the amor patriae of the other And can the 
liberties of a nation be thought secured, when we have 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 65 

removed the only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of 
the people, that their liberties are the gift of God. Indeed 
I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; 
and that justice can not sleep forever. The Almighty 
has no attribute that can take sides with us in such a 
contest." 

Patrick Henry, the impassioned orator of the Eevolu- 
tion, affirmed — " Slavery is detested; we feel its fatal 
effects ; we deplore it with all the pity of humanity. It 
would rejoice my very soul that every one of my fellow 
beings was emancipated. I believe the time will come 
when an opportunity will be offered to abolish this 
lamentable evil." 

Judge Wilson, of Pennsylvania, said— " I consider the 
power given to this Constitution to prohibit the importa- 
tion of slaves, as laying the foundation for banishing 
slavery out of the country. If there was no other lovely 
feature in the Constitution but this one, it would diffuse 
a beauty over its whole countenance. In the lapse of a 
few years, Congress will have power, (by an amend- 
ment of the Constitution), to exterminate slavery from 
within our borders." 

John Jay, the first accomplished Chief Justice of the 
Supreme Court of the United States, and who aided in 
the formation of the Constitution, said : " The word slaves 
was avoided, probably, on account of the existing tolera- 
tion of slavery, and its discordancy with the principles 
of the Revolution, and from a consciousness of its being 
repugnant to some of the positions in the Declaration of 
Independence." 

Judge Tucker, an able civilian of Virginia, said to the 
legislature of his State : " Should we not at the time of 
the Revolution have loosed their chains and broken their 
fetters? or if the difficulties and dangers of such an 
experiment prohibited the attempt during the Revolution, 



66 LlFt UF tttNAlOH MOMll*. 

is it not our duty to embrace this moment of CoD»tita- 

tional health and vJLror, to ertVct so «! ' ' an < " 

and to remove from un a stiirma with %v i*u it our ei. 

will never cease to upbraid n», nor our « lo 

reproach us? The riu'ht of one man ovem r. lo hold 

him in slavery, is neither founded in i nor in 

policy. Slavery is j)erfectly in^ 

ernment. Shall we then n 

sideration, moral, religious. |x>litieal or '• 

mends ? " 

^Ir. Parker, <>f Viri^nnia. in the tirhl < I 

under the j>rosent rMn.«»titution. JMiid : ** He i 
gress would do all in their power to rf^<T'»rt* 
to its inherent privileges, and if i not tho 

stigma under which America lal>orc<i. The in 
of our principles, with which we arc ju}»tly ch" .. i 

be done awav, that wo mav sht»w by our aci.-n- arf» 

beneficence of the doctrine whicli we held ool lo lau- w«jrld 
in our Declaration of Indcf ^ ' ^ • ' 

Washington, the Fatlier oi lus cuuntr\ -:i i I novcr 
mean, unless some particular circun I 

me to it, to posses'^ another slave i*\ j»i 
among my first desires to »ee some plan ; in i 

countrv, by which slavery may he al )>y law. 

Slavery might anrl ought t<^» be al by h iv© 

authority, and so far as my sn 
be found wanting." He, at his death. lrtM-<| all h 
Washington wrote to Lafayelt*-. whi'U the latter •el all 
his slaves free in Cayenne : Would to (iod. a I.. , rit 
might dit^'use itself generally into the niind« of the p. • 
pie of this country. Tho slaves ought, by deirreos. t^' ; • 
set free, and that, too, by legislative authority 

Lafayette, the friend of America, and the co-patriot 
of Washington, who poured out his wealth like water, 
and led an army from France, to aid in achieving our 



LIFE OF SENATOR MU11RI8. 67 

indeijendence, said: -'I never would have drawn my 
sword in the cause of America, if I could have conceived 
that thereby I was founding a land of slavery." 

Benjamin Franklin, the patriot, the philosopher and 
the philanthroj^ist, closed his long and useful life by act- 
ing as President of an Abolition Society, formed on the 
14th of April, 1775, and re-organized in 1788, when this 
venerable man accepted the Presidency, Dr. Push act- 
ing as Secretary. These men, and their co-laborers in 
the cause of emancipation, sent to Congress the following 

MEMOEIAL: 

From a persuasion that equal liberty was originally the 
portion, and is now the birth-right of all men, and influ- 
enced by the strongest ties of humanity, and the princi- 
ples of our Institutions, your memorialists consider 
themselves bound to use all justifiable measures to loosen 
the bands of slavery, and promote a general enjoyment of 
the blessings of freedom. Under these impressions, they 
earnestly entreat your serious attention to the subject of 
slavery ; that you will be pleased to countenance the res- 
toration of liberty to those unhappy men, who alone in 
this land of freedom, are degraded into perpetual bond- 
age, and who, amid the general joy of surrounding free- 
men, are groaning in servile subjection ; that you will 
devise means for removing this inconsistency from the 
character of the American people ; that 3'ou will promote 
mercy and justice toward this distressed race ; and that 
you will step to the verge of the power vested in you for 
discouraging every species of traffic in the persons of our 
fellow-men. 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, President. 

Philadelphia, Feb. 3, 1790. 

Societies, having the abolition of slavery in view, were 
formed in a number of other States, including Virginia 



• i of del- 


- -o* 


■ \hv «»ver- 


U- 


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to dmrt an 


h 


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K to .. -Il 



68 LIKE OF SENATOR MOtRI* 

and Maryland : and in 1704. ft (Ii-neral « 
gates from all the Abolition ^ - in the I 

was held in Philadrlidiia, to consult i 
throw of slavery ; and this (ieneral < 
ally for twelve years. To the fin*t < 
was a delei,'ate. and Chairman of a i 
Address to the people of the ITniti»«! 
contained the folh)wing views and 
Hlavery : 

"Many reasons concur in persuading u« to 
domestic slavery in our country. 

"It is inconsistent with the nafetv . f th.- !i>..rtir<! of 
the United States. 

"Freedom and slavery can not lon^ exiat t'''-'*'*T. 
An unlimited power over the time. labor and p-'-iinty 
of our fellow creatures, nc ^ ^ily un6t« men for dia- 
chari;in<^ the jiublic and pruatt- dutied of citiaons of a 
Eepublic. 

"It is inconsistent with (U)und jxdicy, in • - the 

States which j>ermit it, to all those evils •■ ' 
tions and the most resentful war liave int? nc 

of the richest islands in the W.-^t 1 

" It is unfriendly to the j)rrsent exertions of the inhab- 
itant.s of Europe in favor of liberty W|»ui ; will 

advocate freedom with a zeal proj i to it- 

while they view the purest Keptiblic in the world tolera- 
tinoj in its bosom a body of slaves? 

"In vain has the tyranny of kinir« boon r I while 

-we permit in our country a d<.; ^ .-h 

involves in its nature most of the vi id m - thnt 

we Inive endeavored to avoid. 

"It is degrading to our rank as nu-n in the scale of 
being. Let us use our reason and social affections for the 
purposes for which they were given, or cease to boaat a 
pre-emineneo over animals that are unpolluted with our 
crimes. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 69 

" But higher motives to justice and humanity toward 
our fellow creatures remain yet to be mentioned. 

" Domestic slavery is repugnant to the principles of 
Christianity. It prostrates every benevolent and just 
principle of action in the human heart. It is rebellion 
against the authority of a common Father. It is a prac- 
tical denial of the extent and efficacy of the death of a 
common Saviour. It is a usurpation of the prerogatives 
of the great Sovereign of the universe, who has solemnly 
claimed an exclusive property in the souls of men. 

" But if this view of the enormity of domestic slavery 
should not affect us, there is one consideration more 
which ought to alarm and impress us, especially at the 
present juncture. 

" It is a violation of a Divine precept of universal jus- 
tice, which has in no case escaped with impunity." 

Congress gave countenance and encouragement to these 
Abolition Societies, formed in various States of the Union, 
and as late as 1809, the Speaker of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, by a resolution, was directed to return a letter 
of thanks to an Abolition Convention, for a gift of Clark- 
son's history of slavery, which was ordered to be placed 
in the Congressional library. 

The i^atriot and statesman, the philanthropist and 
Christian, the politician and divine, the guardians of pub- 
lic liberty and morality, were all united to exterminate 
this moral and political evil from the Eepublic. They 
deemed it a duty to saturate their schools, colleges, 
churches, legislatures and domestic circles, with the belief 
that slavery was a national crime, offensive to God, and 
destructive to the safety, happiness and prosperity of the 
people." 

Mr. Leigh, of Virginia, in 1832, said—" I thought, till 
very lately, it was know^n to everybody, that during the 
Revolution, and for many years after, the abolition of 



It 



LIKE OF bt.NAri»tt MUHK1». 



elavery wfi'; n favorite topic with many ^'f ^^^r nh\i»^f 

statesmen."' 

This too, was the religious hcnununl of the Rcvolatioo, 

and of subsequent er:-.- 

The Presbyterian ehurch ' -in iloi, iii*J, 1795, 

1815, and in 1818, that — " Siuvtry wa« a ' ai^n 

of the most sacred and pr " t« of ' 

utterly inconsistent with the law ol (itxi ; u- 

cilable with the spirit and }»r ■ the < I of 

Christ; and that it i^ m liy the duty ot' an 4- 

tiauB to use their honest, earnest and un 4- 

vors, as speedili/ at }> to efface this blot OD our hn|y 

relicjion, and to obtain tlie < ry 

throughout Christendom, and if p ' the 

world." 

This historical record Hhow» the ihoi _ anti ry 

sentiments and action of tho founder'* of' mr \ al 

Institutions and the framcrs of the ( .. Not 

one of tho8e libert}' loving men dreamed of ita ezteoiiioB: 
not one but prayed for and anticipated ita npeedy 
extinction. 

Before a generation had j)a.H8ed away, the aontimcut oi 
freedom began to grow less potential, and the tpirit of 
slavery more aggressive and dominant 

During eighty years <.f nati-.nal c- and pro- 

gress, American slavery becomes the ruiing r of 

the country. Its a. Mons have triui : c.\-T«r th© 

free purposes and principles of the Constitution and of 
national i)atriutism. It has ignon-d the d.Klrine«» of the 
Declaration of Indept-ndenco, and I at that irreat 

charter of human rights. It has made slavery > al 

and freedom Sectional. It has trampled on ' m- 

pacts, and opened to the power of slavery imn. erri- 

tories, which have been for a generation, by a ^ n act 

of legislation., consecrated to freedom, in which thirteen 



Lli'E or SENATOK MORUiS. 71 

empires, as large as the great State of Ohio, may he 
formed. It has added five new Slave States to the Union. 
It has under its power more than one-half of the geo- 
graphical domain of the Nation. It has originated wars 
for the purpose of giving expansion and perpetuation to 

the system. 

It has controlled the Legislation of Congress, and in- 
directly of Free States, and avowed its purpose, as declared, 
by its Southern champions, " to give laws to the Govern- 
ment." It has practically denied the Constitutional right 
of Petition, and treated American citizens, who have pe- 
titioned for a redress from the evils of slavery, with 
contempt. It stifled, and prohibited for years, in the 
popular branch of the Government, free discussion on the 
subject of slavery. In the Convention of great political 
parties, slavery has decreed, who should, or who should 
not be President. In the executive, legislative and 
judicial departments of the Government, it has had the 
supremacy, and their emoluments. It has made political 
Anti-Slavery a ground for civil disfranchisement, social 
proscription and murderous persecution. It has corrupted 
the public conscience of the nation, and revolutionized 
public sentiment. It has subsidized the Press of the 
North to a considerable extent, both political and religious, 
into an advocacy of its arrogant claims. Christianity has 
heen 2:>ervertcd and converted to its defense and perpetuation. 
The Pulpit and the Bible have been brought to its sanction 
and its declared Divine authority. Ecclesiastical bodies 
have been rent in twain by its unhallowed pretensions; 
and every fountain of influence, political, social, educa- 
tional, and religious, have felt its corrupting power 
throughout the nation and Government. 

The cause of this sad revolution in public sentiment, 
and the action of the people and Government, are mourn- 
ful and manifold ; and is one of the most humiliating 
chapters in American hi^'torv. Whence this treachery to 



72 LIFE OF SENATOr. " ■' ". "^ 

freedom? this apostacj from th. . «*« ].roviilcnt 

iu the first and pure af^es of the lU-pi. hi. 

mainly from two sources, the lovo of money and the 
love of Power ; Avarice, and Ambition, iho two dominmnt 
pasbions of the human heart. Material wealth baa bccu 
too much the controlling intercut and purj-'— of tho 
American people. The discovery w.- •• ■. i-th-v > ;ion, iu 
the phinlin;j: rtirions of the S<jutii, »'juid \ -nc tb« 
source of luture wealth, and cultivated by rutkw labor; 
and hence, Cotton i c'Kini^'," the nil: - ' .1 

in the monied and j)oliUcitl powvr of the « i i*ia 

great power jjervaded the < »! tJi« 

North as well as of the South, and. m the o, 

brought the Irce ^»'orth int • of 

the South. The commercial, the ^ 
interests of the North, were ; 

South, by tl»e agitation of Hlavcry. u 4 

in its arrogant aggi »», and !• 

and defenders of American Slavery. 

Political power, also had a great u. in the r< 

lution of public sentiment, and the action of tho O i- 

ment in lavor of slavery. The balance of power baa 
always been with the S«^uth, and under tho projfTviui and 
achievements of free institutions and frev '^^' 'f. tbia power 
was being transferred to the North. 1 .., . .utb, no long 
accustoTiied to rule, made tho strongest cffortit lo retain 
their ascendancy in the Government, and to perpetuate 
their political power. In this effort they unift»rn»ly huc- 
ceeded in causing the free North to bow in - ' n to 

their claims, so that in almost every Pr- n 

they obtained a President, and with him llic wUxjkv poiit- 
ical power of the (iovernment, to favor the pr is 

of the slave-power. 

These two great interests controlled and dii 1 the 

public sentiment of the country, and br r 

their dominion, the principles and institutions of tbo 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 73 

North. The Press, the Pulpit, religious and secular Liter- 
ature, Churches, Ecclesiastical Bodies, Humane and 
Christian Societies, great Publishing Houses, vSocial affini- 
ties, Political parties, and State Legislation, became di- 
rectly, or indirectly, auxiliary in corrupting the public 
conscience and public sentiment, and thus revolutionizing 
the action of the Government, and the popular influence 
of the country, so that the battle was turned in favor of 
Slavery and against Freedom. 

This ascendancy too, of the slave power, has been kept 
and continued in defiance of equal justice and true 
Democracy. The population, the commerce, the enter- 
]3rise, the wealth, the prosperity, the finical support of tho 
Government, the means for the diffusion of Christianity 
and education, are greatly in favor of the N'orth. Free- 
dom — in all the elements of national prosperity and 
greatness, in all that constitutes a State — has greatly 
outrivaled slavery, as all the statistics of the country 
abundantly confirm. 

The Census of 1850 gives 347,525 slave-holders; of 
these, 68,820 own but a single slave; 105,683 each own 
under five slaves ; 80,765 had each less than ten slaves — 
making 255,268 who each owned less than ten slaves. 
This number taken from 347,525, the whole number of 
slaveholders, leaves but 92,257 who are the owners of ten 
slaves or more; and these have practically controlled the 
Government, and brought the Northern States — with all 
their superior wealth, enterprise, intelligence, and their 
five-fold population — into subserviency to tho slave 
interest. 



74 LIFE OF srNATOR MOKBIS 



CHAPTKK XL 

AoiTATiox — Three Eras of 51»Tcry % — 

Missouri Era — lYesont Era — Mr M .rn» u »t ** - .la 

the bejrinninp of the V Em — ^ xun 

District of ColamMa — iciiii-ns xr> 
Threatened wit': r-- ••' • - '"'• • ^' 

the Senate — I'ri . ... . _: a 

of the Senate — The > % B*H '■•iotn %tt4 

Slarery — Prediction of Mr. M irrii — F- "arJ — Mr. \i 

Speech on the Kighl of Petition. 

AcJiTATioN is ilic Hoiirro of \'\f(ht and pr'.^n- 
tlie triumjdi of truth and freedom, and iho ciuwutaii oi 
error and despotism. Tho Provi«! of God haa no 

clearer eonfirmation and no i. vm»: n, than in 

the coaselesB agitation to wliich niavory han l»o«n i*ub- 
jeeted <luring the last quarter of a century. Frc 
after a season of inaction, rouhod il.H«lf to rt»«iitl ih*' 
agprressions of slavery, and to turn once more the ; 
of Government to it.s original purjM.se of : 

expanding tlie bles8ings of fn , and to 

slavery. All efforts to prevent agitation hut ii ; 

its intensity and thoroughncf^. To n the of 

freedom, political conventions in their plalfomi«. dtiTccd 
the doctrine of non-intervention and entire itilcncvi 
legi.^latures in free States, intcrdicte<l its d^— o-J-.n; 
great ecclesiastical denominations heU! it aa .....-^>, to 
canvass the claims of slavery, or to utter anathemas 
against it : the press secular and relitrious. made the Mob- 
ject contraband in its columns; commerco and social 
influence labored to prevent its examination and expo. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 75 

sure ; and all possible efforts were combined to keep 
slavery from the searching ordeal of light and discussion. 
These efforts however, were unsuccessful. Freedom was 
too powerful for slavery; and in defiance of j)olitical, 
commercial and religious edicts, agitation increased till it 
became the absorbing subject of discussion and action of 
the American j)eople and Grovernment. 

Three distinct eras mark the agitation of slavery. The 
First was, when the Constitution of the United States 
was formed, continuing till about 1808, the year in which 
the slave-trade ceased by law ; the Second, when the 
State of Missouri sought admission into the Union with a 
Constitution establishing slavery, which produced a pro- 
found excitement throughout the country, and which was 
quieted by the Act of Compromise, which gave to freedom 
all the Xational Territory north of thirty-six degrees and 
thirty minutes ; the Third began about 1832, and has 
been ever since, waxing deeper and stronger. 

Thomas Morris took his seat in the Senate of the United 
States at the commencement of the Third Era of the 
political agitation of slaver}^, in which he bore a dis- 
tinguished part till his death. 

Petitions to abolish the slave trade in the District of 
Columbia, were sent to Congress as early as 1814. The 
traffic in human beings, shamelessly prosecuted in the 
Capitol of a Free Ecpublic, and in view of the assembled 
legislators of the nation and theEepresentatives from For- 
eign countries, was deemed, even by the inhabitants of the 
District, a ISTational reproach. Judge Morrill, of the Circuit 
Court of the United States, in charging the Grand Jur}', 
declared : " That the frequency with which the streets of 
"Washington city had boon crowded with manacled cap- 
tives, sometimes on the Sabbath, could not fail to shock 
the feelings of all humane persons." In the same year, 
1816, John Randolph, made a motion that a Committee in 
Congress be appointed, which was carried, to report 



7G MFK OF SEN AT OB MOEEIS. 

" what measures were n« • y lo i>ui a -i«»p to the tUve 

trade in tlie District." 

In 1828, more than one th *'» t^»« 

District, petitioned ('• -•* to . 

In 1820. the (irand Jury oi' the i m » i i^ 

Coni,^res8 in which they prayed, '* Thai \ 
be made to prevent slave d< 
of the Dit^trict. Depots iVir the InM 
they collected. It is bi i th.- 

be gratified l»y the int ' -J** 

pre.ssion an<l the exclusion of * 
the District. 

In 1830, the Washington .V/..rMv,r 
sentiment in an article on ti.v ..... i....^ ... ; 
told the American people '• That at th»« ^-^y 
the procession, which eontainc ' •' ^' >.i 

of the United Stiites and his la 
triumph to the Capitol, a } u ii 

beings, handmjf'nl in jtain. wtrc tirjven in u 
turn to a slave hhip, where, with 
bark and be convevcd to the \\ i.. 

O'Connell that will plead f)r the- 
ti'ict of Columhia." 

These were the sentiments of the . of the 

peo]>]e in the Free Stales ; and av:i 
Constitutional right to petition ( :• a n 

grievances, they sent, durinir the S^ . term of Mr. 

Morris, numerous petitions. pravinL' f^r tho «Ttppre<^nioD 
of the Slave traftic, and the . v in the 

District of Columbia. 

When these })etition8 were presented to the Uouse of 
Representatives, the slave power wa« indignant, and Mr. 
Speight of >s'nrtli Carolina, said : - X..*!.;..- )...♦ .^..^^t 
for the Speaker, as an othcer of the 11...... .»i,u ui^ ._uar- 

acter, prevented him from rushing to the table and t4sar- 
ing the petition to pieces." '• I warn tl itionere 



the 


1 


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'ni. 


it r.r 


\ 




••; 






' in 
an 


r 


'iirec- 






in- 


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11* 


the 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 77 

said another, Mr. Hammond, of South Carolina, '-ignorant, 
infatuated barbarians as the}^ are, that if chance shall 
throw any of them into our hands, they may expect a 
felon's death." 

John Quincy Adams, Ex-President of the United States, 
and, subsequently for ten years, member of Congress from 
Massachusetts, presented a petition to abolish slavery in 
the District. Mr. Thompson of South Carolina, rose, and 
threatened him with expulsion from the House, and an 
indictment before the Grrand Jury. " He may yet be 
amenable to the Grrand Jury, and we may yet see an in- 
cendiary brought to justice." To prevent agitation on the 
subject of slavery, and to intimidate the freemen of the 
JSTorth from sending their petitions to Congress, the House, 
on the 26th of May, 1836, passed the following reso- 
lution: 

" Resolved, That all petitions, memorials, resolutions, 
and propositions, relating in any way, or to any extent 
whatever to the subject of slavery, shall, without being 
read, printed, or referred, be laid on the table, and that 
no further action whatever shall be had thereon." The 
preamble declared the object to be, "That all agitation on 
the subject of slavery should be finally arrested, for the 
purpose of restoring tranquillity to the public mind." 

The same spirit and purpose reigned in the Senate. On 
the 7th of Januar}^, 1836, Mr. Morris presented several 
petitions from the citizens of Ohio, asking the abolition of 
slavery in the District of Columbia. Mr. Calhoun, of 
South Carolina, rose and said : " It was not within the 
power of Congress to legislate on the subject ; that one 
half of the Union was deeply slandered in these petitions; 
that receiving them would continue agitation ; that agi- 
tation was what the South feared, because it would com- 
pel the Southern press to discuss slavery in the very 
presence of the Slaves, who would be induced to believe 
that there was a powerful party at the iSTorth ready to 



78 LIPB OP SENATOR MORKIH. 

a^.-'iat ilicm f L object to r\'< 
they were 8un«Ieriii^ t' 
I jellicr. " 

Mr. K la. at ' tt of ih« 

UnitCil > tiaiii ; '11 

ic8 would Vft 

del bv di 

Mr I.rii^h. of Y t of tlie«»« 

pel ^ I !«' T»ro- 

duee ;. i in our 

the Union. I)r. rMiunnin>(, of IJo^ion. in IfttlJ. |. . . 

his views of AmoHf nil j^lavery ; in r to thai Bo^a«». 

Mr. Lei^h <1'^< That he never read any |>ap«r thai 

tilled hii.. .* opor ^ r-'»w. It had don© -^ U> 

weaken the brotherly lov.- ■- V -*» ^ - •» nn 

the whole exertions of the 
tionisti* put tojrether. It hau nu 
of his own raco." 

Mr Vv of South ' The • rn- 

men I ^houUi h«y to the )" we can't r 

petitionn of L ;ii. : ■ ; ► 

are w;. :\ war of extern .- \S 

that ( will .i 

between \i» and i an A 

within the l»orders ul - ' 

him we will trv him. and i th*» 

ferenee of all the ^ .irth. 

Federal (iovernment, we will hnT»ir him." 

Mr. Stranixo, of Noril. i 1 mo . nrt- 

denlly believe that the institution of »laver\- in favorable 
to the hi^he.'.t development of the freemen who live 
within it.** influence; that it promote* the ^rrowth of all 
the nobler and ^eneroua qualities of our nature in everv 
bosom, except perliapR, that of the slave hinmelil The 
current of fanaticism which ha.s croswd the * ' ntic. ha« 
swept away in its coarse, one of our Hovereigj* .-..it-- nul 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 79 

how many more were doomed to follow, God only knew. 
Every agitation on the subject of slavery, weakens the 
moral force in our favor, and breaks down the moral bar- 
riers that now serve to protect and secure us. We have 
everything to lose, and nothing to gain by agitation and 
discussion." 

Mr. Lumpkins, of Georgia, said — " Every lover of this 
Union should cease to agitate this question. The inter- 
ference of the Abolitionists and their supporters with the 
domestic concerns of the South, is daily becoming more 
offensive. If abolitionists went to Georgia, they would 
be caught." 

These were the uttered declarations of Southern Sena- 
tors, when anti-slavery petitions w^ere j^resented. Senators 
from the free States were as fierce in their denunciations. 

Mr. Buchanan, from Pennsylvania, said — " These fana- 
tics have been scattering fire-brands, arrows, and death, 
throughout the Southern States. Their motives may be 
honest, but their zeal is without knowledge. They ren- 
der the condition of the slave miserable, with vague 
notions of freedom never to be realized. They are des- 
perate fanatics." 

Mr. Wall, of !N"ew Jersey, said — "Let us put an end to 
this exciting subject; let us by a promj^t decision, carry 
balm to the wounded feelings of the slave-holding States; 
let not this Hall become a place for the discussion of 
Abolition." 

Mr. Wright, of 'New York, said — " Refuse the right to 
petition on the broad principles, as relating to the subject 
of slavery, and these malignant agitators will seize upon 
the act to draw to themselves and their cause public sym- 
pathy. They were dangerous and wicked agitators of 
the North. Mr. Channing's Work on Slavery, had shoAvn 
him ignorant of the opinion and feelings of the great mass 
of the citizens of the non-slaveholding States. The spirit 



so LIFE OK SENATOR Moa an. 

in ^vhich it was written, i\- '"-'-^'v nV.n*. ,\ lUo V..rt>,..rfi 
feelings as its lanfjuaije d. . - 

Mr. Pierce, of New llaini • " ?*--•' .,f tho 

United States, said — •* 1 : i lul -'.livmts of tho 

Abolitionists as mad and fan;iiu.:i." 

In the midst of such an array of oi . Mr. M 

as a Senator from the fr. ^ oi Uhiu, « . uii^i 

ablv defended the ( • • ▼• 

men. A few extrael^ Injin 1. 
of the right of \ i the 

had petitioned ' 
presented : 

"Tho siihject-matter of ; !y 

within the power of T'on and '"no ui>on 

body could act. v in their < . n il wan i.. 

sary for such action to bo had. Ho wa* wc!! rrmvinrvd 
that tho petitioners entortuined the ftatnc ih 

himself on the .•subject, and that they had ii. ^ ; » 

sent their petitions to ('..•..'^-^^ •....! « :.i. t ..^ 

faith, it wan tho duty «-^ • ;.. piu\iue 

which slavery and the .-.a.v hhould U« a) m 

this District. The question nuv, ij». have t' rs 

a right to be heard by this ' ' ' • y^ 

complete, and exclusive ' >j 

This right is secured to then* in Uw m.»j»i ; r, 

by the provisions of the C „.* 

mont deprives Co. (»f ail ] to make n. x, to 

abridge this right; the < ,1^ 

as inherent, and original, an.l d.us not in • ,1 

degree, permit Congress to im . it n* j, H-ht. 

I pon this Constitutional provision the | ..o 

placed themselves, as upon a mek whiel, can not Jk) 
moved; but m the exercise of thiR ri^^ht. he wa« willing 

to admit, ihat the petitioners ought to observe that d ^ 

rum which is necessary to the very existence of aocietv 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. SI 

'' It is objected in this case, that the petitioners reflect 
in the hmguage of their petitions, most unwarrantably 
on sovereign l^tatcs, as well as on individual citizens of 
those States. lie said— if the right of petition was 
deemed of so much importance as to be declared by the 
Constitution, a right which Congress should not abridge ; 
with what propriety then, shall one branch of Congress 
undertake to declare, that petitions shall not be received, 
on the ground, that the object which the petitioners seek 
to obtain is not in the power of Congress to grant ; or 
that the words used by the petitioners, are such as ought 
not to be heard ? 

" He would ask gentlemen, if this was not abridging 
the right of petition ; for, if Congress could prescribe the 
matter and form in which petitions should be presented, 
there was at once an end to the right of petitioning. 
He could see no difference in principle, in prescribing the 
manner in which an act should be done, and in prevent- 
ing it altogether. The petitions now presented, pray the 
action of Congress on a subject, over which Congress 
alone, has the power of legislation. They have expressed 
themselves in this matter, in such language as they judged 
proper for the occasion ; this is their inherent right. The 
liberty of speech is theirs, Avithout restraint, and they are 
subject for its abuse, only to the laws. Let us take care 
then, how we tread on this ground, lest in our attempts 
to make petitions palatable to ourselves, we do not abridge 
the sacred right of petitioning. In this belief he found 
assurance, that the petitions would be received, and the 
motion of the lionorable Senator fail. It was not neces- 
sary, that he should express his views of the evil effects 
that would foHow a contrary course." The feelings, said 
Mr. Morris, which prompted these petitions Avere the 
deepest rooted of any in the luiman breast; they were 
excited by a high sense of religious duty, and no human 
power could ever induce them to abandon what they 



02 LIFE or SENATOR MORRIS. 

believed themselves llius hound to perform. Tht-y had 
been termed miserable fanat'- \..- ^ ^"** 

charged with an intention to i.»-- .vc the I ... .. 

views were very erroneouH. They were uprijfhi. 

scientious, patriotic eitixen!*. and they had a riirht to l>e 
heard. And to receive the petilionn and it ■ ' • 'v 
move thuir rejection, was t * to : tu 

receive them. It was k< : ilic \h>ji<i lo lh« 

ear, and breakintr it to ihcir h«'i • ll U hi of 

petition lail us, will it not jirovt* thai ihr whoU- 
the Constitution is rotten, and not \ our 1 

fervently hoj>e. that llie tear of - i 

mav yet be dropped on the w- and • , 

and bldl them out forever." 

The Senate jiassed a i n, t!»»l r. .-% 

})etition on the subject of slavery. »! 1 

after it was read, thus strikintr down 
tional ri.i^ht of Petition. Tljis a< T 
bythe Slave power, ever in the ;; . in t! 

of the Tniteil States, and the repeal ol :.., ' ... <- 

promise Act, in Marcli. 1H54, were huttiv ■• ?il 

prediction made by Mr. Morris, on tlieflv i 
in 183U. "I am clearly of the opinion said he. thai u mv 
liberties of the people of this countrj* are ever d- ' ' 

it will be by the act of an American (' uwa liio 

first scene in the ^a*and drama will take plM« e in thin 
Body.- 

Senator Seward of New York, on the triu: 
over freedom, in the act r* the ' ' 

promise, uttered the same sentiment: "" 
ance to this Act was never to be made in this H 
Senate floor is an old battle-^rround. on which havt- b.-.-n 
fought many contests, and always, at lea^t 
with fortune adverse to the cause of equal an«i .. .1 

fi*eedom.'' 

On the 10th of January, 1839, Mr. Morris ma<U- a d 



«'■ •• 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 



83 



speech on the subject of the right of Petition which is 
here inserted. It is a Constitutional and able discus- 
sion of the whole subject. It is as follows : 

SPEECH OF ME. MOEEIS. 

January 10, 1838. 

Mr Morris, on presenting the petition of sundry citizens 
of Brown County, Ohio, said he had received a petition 
■with the request to present the same separately and alone ; 
it contained the words Slavery and Slave Trade, and those 
words but once repeated ; he feared, however, that it 
would tall under the practice of the Senate, and meet the 
same fate that other petitions containing the same vvords 
had done ; that he would, however, avail himself of the 
opportunity, in support of the motion he was about to 
make, to submit a few remarks to the Senate, and which 
motion he should make in courtesy to the Senate, mid not 
as a rirfit existing in the body to require it. He had 
before him the Constitution and Eules of the Senate, both 
of which would sustain him in the course which strict 
dutv would require him to take on the present occasion. 
He would first distinctly state, that he and those who 
thought with him on this subject, waged no war upon the 
laws and institutions of any State ; the overgrown and 
unsatisfied power with which they were contending, had 
attacked them within their own borders. It was in self- 
defense, in defense of all that was valuable to honorable 
minds, that they were now compelled to act. It was in 
defense of political liberty, and the important and inhe- 
rent right of petition, that they felt themselves pressed 
forward in this contest. And the first question he wouh 
consider was, who have the right of petition ? Does it 
belong to the many, or to the few ? has it any want of 
exclusiveness in its nature to prevent its equal onjoymen 
bv ALL' Will the legislative bodies of the country (and 
he "poke with reference to the States as well as this 



84 LIFE or gENATOa MORRI§. 

Government.) create an ar'- " v of r -^ •- - •'— ' H*4 

an aristocracy of wealili ? .^ii;.u i ~ ' 'be 

tested by color, or by i»roj»orty ? Kuucr rom 

assumption of power, and a • ' ' ' n oi dl-* * 

Jle considered any human : 

property, and upon who.m- pi'r»»ij lin- m , 

and was suscej)tible of " 

the full and unrt >tri(ti <i < 

trary doctrine he held to be l 

and desp<nic in its natui «> 

fundamental j)rinciph 

tended riglit of ji. ,-, bv » 

shall petition, is tindinL' ; ** !<*• • 

assumj>tion ot^ power li. _ 

common sen.^e for its support. 

No one has any just riijht l<»Hay, wh • •iT....fi ' ..nr i i.!.. 

shall enjoy that rii^ht, or for whn' '"• - 

unjust claim, ho feared, wm-* -• :',ii..i^ ,»- 

blasting influence through lu.j ._ ■• •—.-, and n new 

information was to be relied on, wi. ' ' 

tion of debate in the Le^islaf • . 

of talents, worth and r. iijy, ha*! «, 

right of the colored man iv» pr hin } ti th 

the hands of a member, on thr ui that he v 

the Constitution deprived of thr nijht to vole, o 

course, could not instruct the (t 

of its memlurs. He d- -ine b 

support in any State ; and he had read with : 

deep mortirication an«l n-i:ret. of it-* adv. , 

strange and so absurd «lid the ),iH 

mind, that he immediately appli. i to M,me (Vhis brother 

Senators here, from the slave - ^. to know if itwn« tl... 

practice in the (Jeneral As>emblies of their Stm.^, t.. 

petitions from free persons of color, for the i\ ^.j.^ 

grievance under whieli they might suppose thev laboJ^-d, 
and he was assured such was r...t the case;' but thai 



LIFE or SENATOR MORRIS. 85 

persons of this description were allowed to petition as 
other citizens, and their petitions were received as a 
matter of right. And he asked to be corrected if wrong in 
his position. Indeed, one gentleman had said to him, 
" y^hj, sir, we allow our slaves to persuade us that they 
ouijht to be free." These, sir, are noble sentiments, and 
honorable feelings, worthy of the land of Jefferson, in the 
day when his hand was penning the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. A contrary doctrine however, is now held and 
advocated by a class of small politicians, who, like insects 
have sprung from the corrupt and agitated waters of 
party spirit and drill ; mere summer flies, who buzz round 
the circle of power, and draw a precarious and short lived 
existence from the putrid mass of prejudice, which inter- 
est has created, to keep the colored race in bondage. 
Politicians who would make the lacerated back of the 
trembling slave a hobby to ride into office, if no other 
would suit their purpose as well. He had no language to 
express his feelings with regard to such men, and the doc- 
trine they held, and it was better perhaps he should 
not ; but he would say, that it must be a most mean and 
contemptible Government which would subject a man to 
the operation of its laws, tax his property for its support, 
and then refuse to hear his petition. Such practice would 
be a refinement of despotism, of which modern Europe 
could not boast. Yet in some of our free States, this doc- 
trine is advocated, and that too by many who profess to 
be republicans. It was a Ecpublicanism beyond his con- 
ception, and one he did not understand — that we should 
tax a man for the support of government, and then because 
he is black or yellow, has a curly head, a flat nose, or 
thick lips, a petition from him sliall not be received by the 
Legislature. Government could not, in his opinion, be 
guilty of an act of greater tyranny and more gross injus- 
tice than this. The philosophy and patriotism of the 
advocates of such doctrines, begin and end in the assertion, 



g6 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRlJl. 

that .1 negro has no ConBtitotional ri;:hl to petition, 

because he has not the ri^hl of voting at ' •• and 

because he has no politieal ri^rht.-*. they «lti»\ mm uuiural 
liicliis. Wliat a bright ti a is this; and what .liiy 

and i)hilanthrMj»y must t\\svU in iho heart whi«!i « 
an i<loaeruellH^yundtIe^<'ri|'ti«>n. aiwl I'' 4 

belief. The noirro is not only ] i to 

apitroaeh his Maker by -n. and • 

from existinij evils whiU* his icllow man. r 

over him. refuses to hear hi> | ! »n the m<<an- 

time, raises a eonlribution fn>m hi-* |» r. to 

pay the fe^'s of the h«» fi; - N..i 

having the right of rcpre- .-^ a n* 

quence of paying laxc**, is a »ore grievan«-»' but tnxinc, 
where the right of petition is denio<i, i* ^. - , . e, 

and high-handed despoliiun. Well haa it bv«D Mud, that — 

•• Maji, T»in man, — 
Drest in a little brir f authoritj. 
Plays such fantastic trlrk^ Wf ■tt K .r*n, 

\* makf^ «>n * 

Sir, said Mr. Morris, the adv ^ of such uuiirji I 

have mentioned, are in my Ik uvi, lovern of n« v, 

in its worst form; tyrants in heart, and • l*. ilio 

human race. This monstrous .ne, he -t 

abounded in the free Slates ; bui lie i; 1 its i ;a 

growth would l>e of short duration, ll wa.s a public prop 
injudiciously applied by public -.to iiu the 

tottering institution of slavery. He r. . that the 

Senate, must not suppose from what he had said, that he 
was about in present a petition from any of tho . d 

people. No! this was not the ca . The ] ..^ 

from free, white citizens of his own State, re^i.lenU of 
the county of Brown, many of whom he knew iK'rsonaily, 
and could bear witness to their respectability and patriot- 
ism. They were persons of piety nn,| intelligeucc ; not 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS, 



87 



fanatics or incendiaries, but men who loved their country; 
and what they woukl that others shoukl do unto them, 
they were willing to do unto others ; and though some of 
the signers were ladies, he considered that as giving the 
petition additional force. 

The petitioners do not ask you to abolish slavery in 
the District of Columbia ; they do not ask you to prohibit 
the slave-trade between the different States and Terri- 
tories of the Union; they do not protest against the 
admission of Texas into the Union ; they do not ask that 
additional slave States be kept out of our Confederacy ; 
no, Sir ! they have asked and prayed to you against these 
things, until deferred hope has made the heart sick. 
The petitioners only state as their opinion, that the exist- 
ence of slavery in the District of Columbia is a great 
national sin; that, like the blood of Abel, it is calling 
loudlv from the ground watered by its tears, to Heaven, 
the only place of its hope, for vengeance upon our beloved 
country, which vengeance they deprecate. And they 
earnestly pray that this Honorable Body will repeal all 
Acts of Congress in any way favoring slavery in the Dis- 
trict ; and they feel quite sure that it will not be con- 
tended that Congress have not the power to repeal their 
own laws. Mr. Morris said, he was well satisfied what 
would be the fate of these petitions, from the settled 
practice of the Senate on like former occasions. Their 
petitions, like those which prayed for the abolition of 
slavery itself, would not be received in this boasted 
temple of liberty, but would be thrown back by those 
who minister at the altar, into the face of the petitioners, 
as an unclean thing, forbidden by the Constitution and 
laws of the country. Not discouraged by these anticipa- 
tions, he would, as he had formerly said, himself move 
the reception of the petition ; but lie ])rotcstc({ against 
the power of the Senate to require such motion to be 
made, cither by virtue of their own Eulcs or the Consti- 



88 LIFE or 8ENAT0B MO BR IS. 

tution. as a preliraiiiar}* one before a pr*"** n could be 

received. The twenty fourth Hule of th' *• which 

he wouM read, di ' — *• Kvfr}' |H?iiUv>i». or memo* 

rial, or other j bi? r d, of ui 

piittin;^ a fjii 1 lor that : 

(not the re' is o) i to by u at tho 

time Hin'h peiiiion in |»r any : 

or monjorial l>e ; or read at the < 

whether the miwio hv ir i by tho I' or a 

member, a brief ^ 

be made bv tho iiv !!♦• -k 

Rule of the -^ tho I 

requiring a motion to : .0 a \> u, to be :..- . \ and 

then laying that motion on the tabl*^ '" .-.f-.l.-i- t.. rid our- 
selves of the petition alt- '■ '^-or. i .. *. of th« 
Kulo requires that a :•••■.. -..all be rviviivM «r a matter 
of coiirKe. unless of are made to tho rvf ^ 0; 
and before those o) \tc made, the 
must have been r< ; ji* j> o, 
otherwise the ordi-r ol i- m n . n. 
and the very ex n Im n- a its 
contents must bo finil -^ i by tho nr 
upon every fair pri; of « 

any other question can be n t to itit a 

refusal on the part of the introducer le briefly ita 

contents. 

An exception to the ;jU rule. od 

as evidence that the o|»cration of the ICule is not to be 
impeded in any other manner but that prc^rr^hod hv the 
single exception nui«ie a part of it. He « ....... . that 

to raise a question of reception to ]>etitions of the kind he 
was about to present, was a new practice, and then to lay 
that motion on the table, and never permit it to bo taken 
up and put to the vote, was a device for a spe< iai purpose, 
a false coin, to be put off as valuable, aijainst the rights 
of the nogro only; for never to hi«; knowledge, had it 



LIFE OF SENATOR Jl R R I S . 89 

been attempted against a petition for the relief of white 
persons. For their rights, it was not yet considered a 
lawful tender; but the time might soon come when it 
would be said here, that the laboring class of the white 
race, ought not to enjoy or exercise political privileges, 
but be placed on the same footing as the free colored race; 
indeed, this doctrine was alreadj^ boldly advanced out of 
doors, by the aristocracy of the country, whether from the 
ISTorth or the South. He contended that the very propo- 
sition not to receive a petition, was in itself a dangerous 
tendency, destructive of the privileges of the people, and 
in derogation of their Constitutional rights. It was his 
opinion, that there w^as no power in the Senate to refuse 
to receive a petition ; no matter what the prayer or the 
language was, it must be received before any judgment 
or order could be taken on it ; the petition could then be 
rejected at once, thrown upon or under the table, or leave 
given to withdraw it, as the Senate might judge proper. 
He said, he liad the authority of the House of Represen- 
tatives to sustain him in his jDosition, and he believed, of 
every State Legislature in the Union. The House, as he 
understood, had decided that it was bound to receive 
petitions, but had laid them on the table, without being 
read, referred, debated, or printed. But in not admitting 
petitions to be received, by making the acceptance a 
question, and then laj^ing that question on the table, he 
believed the Senate of the United States, in this practice, 
stands alone. If glory was derived from its exercise, it 
was a glory whose whole brilliancy shone upon the dark 
Bide of slavery only. 

It would be remembered that, but a few days since, a 
citizen of Philadelphia presented his petition, stating 
that he had discovered a means by which he could cause it 
to rain when and where he pleased, upon any given spot, 
from five to a thousand miles square, and by that means 
could keep the Ohio river always navigable, from Pitts- 
8 



90 MFK OK 8LNATOR MORRIS. 

burgh lo iN outlet, and \n '■ i>im in 

his new an<l valuable enlerpr - i iit, 

and rii^htlv too, that their iM>\Vfr w; to o\ 

on the earth, and lould not In? t . to r 

elements above and arouinl us. and that t 
petitioner was not Within th»»!r |Hjwcr : but v#»t th««v Hid 
not refuse to receive this ^ but j 

same on the table. 

A despotic or monarehial ^or. rnrn^nt hv .., ., 

mii^ht. with some deprco of pi *' -'•'«.. L:in<| of 

plausibility, refuse to receive a pt ..v.... .. • '♦nb* 

jeets, beeau.se they hold that thoir power in «iiij>v'i it'»m 
the Deity, and not from the people ; and that they hare 
the rii^ht of judijinix what thr ' 'all tb« 

privileges they enjoy are deriv*-*!. a*>i iroiu llic Uiwa of 
nature, but from the bounty of the C" Hui with nn, 

the reverse of this is the ' of our ' ut. 

The governin*; principle here in. that all r i» i- 

ent in the people, and nil just ' 
upon their authnritv. It ft» 

from them ou^'hl to be e. : in the liifht lo- 

tions or onlers, which their m ar 

to obev. 

But, there is another still hiijher and more , rt- 
ant objection to the course pursut-d by the Senate, with 
rci^ard to petitions of the character of that which he waa 
called on to present. It is the practice, after a motion to 
receive such petitions is made, and the yea.-* and nay* on 
the qucbtion are desired by one-tiah of the menil»erH pre- 
sent, to prevent that question beini,' put to the vote by a 
subsequent motion, to lay the former motion on the table. 
He did not consider the Senate bonmf to take the vote 
immediately after the yeas and nays had been n: 1. but 

they were bound to put the questi.)n and take the vote, in 
the ordinary course of business, and .lurii.ir the .n. 

The Constitution, he considered as exprenH on this i>.iint. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 91 

that the obligation could not be dispensed with, without a 
palpable violation of its letter as well as its spirit. The 
words of the Constitution are, "And the yeas and nays of 
the members of either House, on any question, shall, at 
the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the 
Journal." He thought that any rule or practice of the 
Senate, by which this positive requirement of the Consti- 
tution, when called for by the requisite number, is denied, 
evaded, or put off, during the session, was a palpable vio- 
lation of the Constitution, and could conceive of no one 
more open and dangerous. Constitutions, laws, and rules, 
are framed for the protectionof minorities,— for the weak 
and helpless. Majorities can, for the time being, take 
care of themselves ; but majorities to-day may be minori- 
ties to-morrow, and need the same protection ; hence the 
necessity of always adhering to correct principles. 

To men not versed in political management, one would 
suppose this provision of the Constitution would have the 
same meaning, and that too, a certain and definite one, 
not to be altered by rule or evaded by policy. He feared 
It was the dark and murky cloud of slavery which ob- 
scured this provision of the Constitution, and prevented 
it from being clearly seen : when slavery is before our 
eyes, we seem incapable of seeing any other object. Gen- 
tlemen, he hoped, would not, on this question, continue 
in a like situation with that notable Indian woman, 
who declared that her husband was always before her 
eyes, and prevented her from seeing any other man. 

Hiscomi^laintwas, not that the right of the small minor- 
ity, in which he commonly found himself on questions of 
this kind, was unconstitutionally taken away— Xo ! it was 
the rights of the people; not of his own constituents alone, 
but of the whole country. It surely is desirable that the 
votes of the members on important questions, should be 
known, and evidence by record, furnished of the fact how 
each member voted. This is the right and privilege of 



92 LIFK OF SENATOR MMRRIrf. 

the countrv. a ri'rht which thcv hftvo |. in one-AAh 

of the ?>i/7)j6 rs y>r< .«'/»/, to «l Hn»l 

muncl. thev have said, the i %LL c> 

lie, then, in their iinmo. • I iw a • the 

minority, tliat the yeas and 'n n • 

a petition on the snhject of •. the 

competent niimhor. ho * ; : on \ho J. ' Th^re 

was no policy or favor conii- thr It 

was a sheer, nake<l ri^hl, and lo j tont» 

hy the power of a majority, wan a plnin r. .^ and 

open viohition of ono^of the c'- •"'•-? • lh« 

Constitution. Ho said it was i. ..* . on 

his part made to delay the bu**!' -- — • — • , uate. 

The question waft of too hicjh an* lu -- ' -r 

to he met and trifled with hy • * , r 

indulijed in such pastimes ; but no uui < or ii ;. *• 

tion ol' vital importance to the • • " the 

members of the Senate would V' n 

of receivincr a I n to y in the I t 

of Columbia lie thought it highly r. if not un- 

(lif^nitied, to evade this qu by 1 

To him it was no new doctrine t*- tt 

of the people and the minority, on a«, n of I. 

The Constitution of his own State use*! t '<» 

as the Constitution of the I'ni' h, on • 

hut placed the power in the hand«» of two m. 
Attempts have been made in th- ^ own State, 

when he ha«l the honor to }m» a n* r of that bo<lr. tO 

evade a question, by a sifle motion, after theyen*; nnd nayi 
had been called fur hy two members. lie n- . ,, .. it for 
the same reason which induced him to r.-sUt the motion 

now. He was then sustained by the i , and on an 

appeal was triumphantly sustained by th- '^' • 

It was hard for him to reconcile the prucucc ui iayiug 
a motion on the table, never to be taken np, after the 
yeas and nays had been ordered, with another practice of 



LIFE OF SENATOR M O R R 1 .S . 93 

the Senate, which would not permit oven the mover of a 
jH'oposition to withdraw it, after a like call had been 
ordered ; but he left it for the gentlemen who had the power 
of the majority in their hands, to reconcile their inconsis- 
tencies here, and justify' their practice to the country and 
l^osterity. 

It was a miserable expedient to cover over our foot- 
steps in our march against the temple of the Constitution. 
The present, it was true, was an isolated case. It stood 
alone ; no other combination of power and strength had, 
before this, been able to accomplish so much. The slave- 
holding power alone, was now found sufficient to close the 
eyes, and still the voice of the country, ichileits dark cloud 
is o' er -spreading the whole land. He felt gratified, when 
now his official labors were ceasing, that, for himself and 
for his country, he had the opportunity to make his most 
solemn protest against the whole proceedings of Congress, 
with regard to petitions on the subject of slavery. 

He would say to the friends of humanity, of justice, of 
the Constitution and laws, be not discouraged. Though the 
deadly mildew of slavery has destroyed the tender vine, 
yet shall its branches again shoot forth. The light in the 
Temple of Liberty is not yet quite extinguished ; though 
your members are few, and yourselves at present, a 
despised class ; yet your cause is just, strong and power- 
ful ; with the shield of faith, and the armor of right and 
hope, rush to the rescue, and prevent the now flickering 
flame from being totally extinguished. A nation^ a world 
is coming to your aid, and your Jinal triumph is as cei-tain as 
that, "seed tirne and harvest, cold and heat, summer and ivinter, 
day and night, shall not cease.^* 

Pray, Mr. President, who are those who, if petitions to 
abolish slavery are presented, or if Congress should 
attempt to consider the proceedings of one of the sove- 
reign States on this subject, threaten to dissolve the Union f 
Is it we, who come before you as humble petitioners? 



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y4 LIFE OF bENATOK MOftEttf. 

Xo, sir, we use no such 

moment, liarbur sucli a tli 

iate. Dissolve llie I'nion 1 • 

amity nuw cxiblin;r between \ 

will lirst lift its Iratrieidal ^ in Una u 

Wliat man. like Cain, would munler h 

are not, Sir, to be I'ound ftn»<»nL' 

wiio are the friends of * 

No, Sir I we llirow back tl. 
endeavoring to deprive u» of « . 
Is it from the deep fountain of tho heart they •] 
when tliey talk of dihi»olvin«T tho rnion? To deny to any 

the rii^ht of petition, he i ^^hl. wa* a t' •■m-i aimed at 

one of the Union's sir ' * ' '•'«; -t.w he trtiated 

the vital principle of Iul * waa «n*^ • -nl to 

restore it to it.s wonted vi^i. ncia iiijuri* .*ta like 

this. This, Sir, is a d ' ' ' i*>r ■ -n. 

He had always held, thai \.\j ui 

in public or in private, that tiiv ( aiuii \ftuuid. i<>i auy 
cause whatever, be di^solve<i. wan in 1 ' n. 

he was sure, Were mistaken, if ihev ti .'. bv 

threats of this kind, the : to sur- 

render an iota of their ' tv 

and perpetual continuance of the Lnion. he < 
mainly depended on the j ul 

of all those rights in their p 

For himself, he was not d _ r in bin eoun»«, 

or tail In j>erform his dntv. here or el--. re, on the 
ground that if he did so, - , thn-alened to runh upon 

crime. IK- wantcl further to say. to the Senate and to 
the country, that thou«:h himself, and those with whom 
he thouixht on this subject, were d-r-— d to bear and suf- 
fer much; yet they, as well as ..vm,,:,, could think and 
<ould feel ; and if that ill-fated hour should ever coma 
when, in drfmsc of their dearest rights, it teat found neertmry, 
t]\ey couhl, nud would, oho art. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 95 



CHAPTER XII. 

Increased Agitatiox — Numbers of Petitioners — Confessions of Sena- 
tors — Calhoun's Resolutions — Counter-Resolutions, by Morris — His 
Remarks — Record in his Memorandum Book of this Struggle in the 
Senate. 

The session of Congress of 1837-8 was marked with a 
deeper and more extended agitation of Slavery, both in 
the country and in Congress. The vexed question, like 
an ever present apparition, would return and demand a 
re-hearing. To restore tranquillity appeared to be beyond 
the magical wand of Senatorial Wisdom. The great sea 
of public commotions, and agitations, rolled higher and 
deeper. The public mind and conscience of the nation 
had quickened and deepened, and went up with increased 
power to the tribunal of our national legislature. The 
session of Congress for 1834-5 received and rejected 34,000 
petitioners ; the session of 1835-6, 110,000 ; and the ses- 
sion of 1837-8, witnessed 300,000 American citizens peti- 
tioning Congress on the subject of Slavery. 

It was in view of this increasing agitation, and aug- 
menting power of freedom, that Mr. Morris, in a tone of 
triumph, asked his co-Senators, '• Is abolitionism dead, or 
is it just awaking into life ? Is the right of petition 
foi'gotten, or is it increasing in strength and force? Let 
me bring back the minds of Senators from their delight- 
ful visions of the death of abolition to sober realities and 
solemn facts. I have now lying before me the names of 
thousands of livinc: witnesses, that slaverv has not con- 
quered liberty ; that abolitionists (for so all these petition- 
ers are called) are not all dead. But suppose abolition- 



96 L I F K < > K > K N A T O R M O B R 1 8 . 

ism i«» dead, is liberty al.so dead, and y tn 

Is liberty of speeeh, of the pr*-*-" nnd th«» r n 

also dead? True, it is strai ^ ^^1 

find themselves in ^eat error, if they . »t i^ «^"^ 

strangled in the country. It is a living ] 

slaver}' can not extit "'-h.'* 

Southern Senator^ »- *'• compelled to com 
fact : 

3Ir. Clavsaid;-*it %% - *' t thaf * *■ §!•• 

very in the District of lumiuuia, wiw • If in 

the public mind, and daily - m^re of 

the public attcnti<»n." 

Mr. Prtston said : • Tb i« wider, n 

Avidir and wider ; the tire is i bat 

worse and worse." 

Mr. Calhoun .said : '• A' with 

the political < of the Morth. and it runs, and 

must run iiitn their stru It 

was imj)i to j»revenl it« 

political j»artie8 of the > ' 

becrin with the lowest cr; • it wonld ifo 

up and spread. JI'\\« ver much he and 
opposed to its doctrines, it would one day spr. nd so as to 
drive him from public life, or compel bin) d tn 'mk 

dictates." 

To counteract and arrest these efT-'^ wu-i -m^^rv, 
Mr. Calhoun applied all his great a) ' * * =man. 

Ill December, 1S37, he presented the lu^' rt.Htjiutioni: 

Jiisohcd, That in the adoption of Ui< 1 Cunntitn- 

tion. the States adopting the same a* as fre<», 

independent, and sovereign States ; an^i li. If, 

by its own vi.iuntary a-^^ent, entered the I nion with the 
view to its inereascd .security against all .' rn, domntic^ 

as well as foreign, and the more perfect and secure enjoy- 
ment of its advantages, natural, political and hocial. 
Rt^sohed, That in delegating a portion of their powen* 



LIFE OF SENATOR M OR II IS. 97 

to be exercised by the Federal Government, the States 
retained, severally, the exclusive and sole right over their 
own domestic institutions and police, and are alone res- 
ponsible for them, and that any intermeddling of any one, 
or more States, or a combination of their citizens, with 
the domestic institutions and jDolice of the others, on any 
ground, or any pretext whatever, political, moral, or 
religious, with a view to their alteration, or subversion, 
is an assumption of superiority not warranted by the Con- 
stitution ; insulting to the States interfered with ; tending 
to endanger their domestic peace and tranquillity ; sub- 
versive of the objects for which the Constitution was 
framed, and by necessary consequences, tending to weaken 
and destroy the Union itself. 

Resolved, That this Government was instituted and 
adopted by the several States of the Union, as a common 
agent in order to carry into effect the powers which they 
had delegated by the Constitution for their mutual secu- 
rity and prosperity; and that in the fulfillment of this 
high and sacred trust this Government is bound so to 
exercise its powers as to give, as far as may be practicable, 
increased stability and security to the domestic institutions 
of the States, that compose the Union ; and that it is the 
solemn duty of the Government, to resist all attempts by 
one portion of the Union to use it as an instrument to 
attack the domestic institutions of another, or to weaken 
or destroy such institutions, instead of strengthening and 
upholding them, as in duty bound to do. 

Resolved, That domestic slavery, as it exists in the 
Southern and Western States of the Union, comiDoses an 
important part of their domestic institutions, inherited 
from their ancestors, and existing at the adoption of the 
Constitution, by which it is recognized, as constituting an 
essential element in the distributions of its jDOwers among 
the States ; and that no change of opinion, or feeling, on 
the part of the other States of the Union, in relation to it, 
9 



98 LIFE OF sr. NATHR XOEBII. 

can justify thcra or their citizon-^ in open and ^^ >;.maiio 
attacks thereon, with a view to its overlhr ..: i ihai 

all such attacks, are in ma n of ihc mutual 

and solemn pledges to ] er, 

given by the States, re.Hpoctively. on ■ into • 

Btitutional comj)act. which : .i- - .• Ii 

is a manifest breach of faitli. nnd a vi n of the raont 

solemn oblii^ationy, moral a ■*■ 

Resolved, That the interm .a»y State or 

States, or their citizens, to aboli»h ^lavcr>• in thi» PiN- 
trict, or any of the Tcrritoricii, on the frround, or tinder 
the pretext, that is immoral or «inful ; or the pft : 

any act or measure of Cot — s, with thai vi«w — .'. i ho 

a direct and dani^erous aii.i. *». on the Constitatton of all 
slave-holdint: States. 

/i?rWm/, That the Union oft' - »n an 

equality of ritjhts and adv ™ i 

and tliat whatever tends to k\ y. tends 

to destroy the Union itself; and that it \f> th 
of all. and more v of ■ ■* 

the States in their cor]M»ral*' r:i; ^l all >• 

to discriminate between the S 

benefits of the Government to the ?• i» of 

Union, and that to refuse to extend to tbo crn :. . 

Western States, any advantage -. Id tend to 

strenjxthen or render them more !*ecuri*. or in 
their limits or population by the annexation of new Ter- 
ritory or States, on the assumption or under the pretext 
that the institution of slaver^-, as it existn amon^ them, 
is immoral, or sinful, or otherwise obnoxious, would b« 
contrary to that equality of riffhts and advantages which 
the Constitution was intended to secure alike to all the 
members of the Union, and would, in effect, disfranc! 
the slave-holding States, withholding fmm thorn lUc 
advantages, while it subjected them to the burdens of the 
Government. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 99 

These resolutions threw the Constitution, and the 
Legislation of Congress, and the sanctions of religion to 
the support and perpetuity of slavery. Mr. Morris pre- 
sented counter resolutions, as follows : 

'' Resolved, That in the formation of the Federal Con- 
stitution, the States acted in their sovereign capacities ; 
but the adoption of the same was by the people of the 
several States, by their agents, specially elected for that 
purpose; and the people of the several States, by their 
own free and voluntary consent, entered into the compact 
of union i)roposed in the Constitution, with the view to 
form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure 
domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, 
promote the general w^elfare, and secure the blessings of 
liberty to themselves and their posterity; and that the 
means of attaining all those important objects are fully 
provided for in the grants of power contained in the Con- 
stitution itself. 

Resolved, That the people of the several States, in dele- 
gating a portion of their power to the Federal Government, 
which they had formerly exercised by their own legisla- 
tures, severally retained the exclusive and sole right over 
their domestic institutions, which they had not, by the 
Constitution granted to the Federal Government; and 
they reserved to individuals, and to the States in their 
sovereign character, the full liberty of speech and to the 
press, to discuss the domestic institutions of any of the 
States, wliether political, moral, or religious; and that it 
would be the exercise of unauthorized power on the part 
of this Government, or of any of the States, to attempt to 
restrain the same ; and that any endeavor to do so would 
be insulting to the people and the States so interfered 
with; for each State alone has the power to punish indi- 
viduals for the abuse of this liberty within their own 
jurisdiction ; and whenever one State shall attempt to 
make criminal, acts done by citizens in another State, 



100 LIPE OF SENATOR MORRlf. 

which arc lawful in the Stnfo whor<» '1 
consequence would be to v • «^»nr I nion. 

Resolved, That this (. nmont ^. the 

people of the several States of this I'ij n 

agent, to earrj* into effect the pow^r* xrhirh thf»T had 
delegated by the Constitution; and ... : . "» of thii 

high and sacred trust, this Go-— ♦ ' -'^ '-^ 

exercise its powers as not to inn-ricii: • ^^-^i 

rights of the .^tat '' r own d r<; 

and it is the duty ol ll»is « ■ iinV 

attempt, however remote, lo • y of 

speech and the press, I he : « n'^h 

State ])y the < i That tii« 

United States are bound to socur • repub- 

lican form of (iovernnunt. and t • m 

against inva8K)n or d« no other 

purpose can (' ^s int •'« 

of a State. 

Rrsoived, That in th« 

southern and wi'siern > is a ; and • evil, 

and that its existence, at the time of tlie . / t the 

Constitution, is not recojL^nixed by that in'strT^m.-nt as an 
essential element in the exercise of its j ... . ...r the 

several States, and no change of feeling on the part of 
any of the States can justify them or tT •- • - ms in 
open and systematic attacks on the right ui j.m. wtijn. the 
freedom of speech, or the liberty of the pr- * a view 

to silence either, on any subject whatever, ana that all 
such attacks are manifest violations of the mutual and 
Bolemn pledge to protect and ' • " • and as 

such are a manifest breach of laiiii. and a vi n of 

the most solemn obligations, political, moral and r. is. 

Resolved, That it is the indisjKitable rii^ht of anv State, 
or any citizen thereof, as well as an ii V, 

to endeavor, by all legal and Constitutional means, to 
abolish whatever is immoral and sinful and that Congrtsi 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 101 

alone possesses the power to abolish slavery and the 
slave trade in this District or any of the Territories of 
the United States ; and the right of petition, of speech, 
and of the press, to accomplish this object, is not to be 
questioned, and that an act of Congress on this subject 
would be within its Constitutional powers. 

Resolved^ That the Union of these States rests upon the 
virtue and intelligence of the citizens in supporting the 
Constitution of the United States, and not upon s^nj sup- 
posed advantages it may afford to any particular State ; 
and that it is the solemn duty of all, more especially of 
this body, which represents the States in their sovereign 
capacity, to resist all attempts to discriminate between 
the States j and that it would be unwise, unjust and con- 
trary to the Constitution, to annex any new Territory, 
or State, to this confederacy, with a view to the advantage 
of any State, or its peculiar domestic institutions; that 
such an attempt would be contrary to that equality of 
rights which one object of the Constitution was to secure 
alike to all the States ; and if done to favor the slave- 
holding States, for the purpose of giving to those States 
a preponderance in this Government, would in effect be to 
establish slavery in all the States. 

Resolved^ That to regulate commerce among the several 
States is an express power granted by the Constitution to 
the Congress of the United States. That, in the exercise 
of this power. Congress may rightfully prohibit any 
article, though made property by the laws of a State, 
from being used in such commerce, if the same would be 
detrimental to the general Avelfare. 

Resolved, That Congress have possessed the power since 
1808 to prohibit the importation of persons into any State 
as articles of commerce or merchandise. 

Resolved, That the political condition of the people 
within the District of Columbia is subject to State regu- 
lation ; and that Congress, in the exercise of its legislative 



102 LIFE OP SENATOR MoRRIS. 

powers over the District, i~ id by the wiU o! it« con- 

stituents in the same manner u> when 1 - ^{,^ 

people of the United Stat< 

Resolved, That tliis Govcrnmeni v . and has 

been sustained by tlic force of pi. and that 

the free and full exercise of that o; 

Decessarv for its healthy ; i ; and that anv \\\ 

•which will not bear the test of v"hlif . ;it 

war with its fundamental pr that anv \ 

ceedini^s on the part of those who :. . 

ment of the States, or any of the r nnv • « 

thereof, which is intended or calcu ; . .. .,^ v. 

tabic the free and full exercise of the ih *tg and 

opinions of any portion of our c:*" — *, on uu^ oabject 

connected with the political or n '^ . . ♦ ^ ^,f 

our country, whether erpr ! by j a lo la>U( 

or otherwise, by attachini,' lo li. ' of anrh ir 

tutions odious and tv\ 

at the very foundation ol ail uur civii 

as our personal safety, p. the 

public justice, and excites i. 

blies to deeds of vi. I. That oar c 

safety is in tolerating error of ie reaaon it 

left free to combat it. 

When they were read, Mr. • un exclaimed — " Yes! 

here was displayed the alfoluU crctd of the Abolition?-** 
fully developed. It was a fair specimen of their doctr.... 

in full color. 

Mr. Morris remarked, in reply: 

''The Senator from South Carolina, m offering hi>i 
resolutions, had thrown the glove, and with ex: - ..f 

triumph, asserted that none in the Senate, in hi» up.n.on, 
cou d vote against his views. He, however, dared to mirr 
the hsts Single handed, and engage with him. The re«oluliont 







:l 


very 

• 
... f 


..k-.v : .. 


of 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 103 

in themselves, were to his mind, broad, sweeping, and 
denunciatory. What was the object of these resolutions? 
Was it not that a free discussion on an important ques- 
tion should not only be discountenanced, but silenced by 
a vote of that Body? They were partial in their bearing, 
speaking on one side, and not on another. He did not, 
for one, believe that Southern rights existed antagonist 
to those of any other portion of the Union. Why talk 
of Southern interests, and of Southern feelings ? Such 
sentiments might lead to geographical distinctions, but 
could never lead to the peace and happiness of the whole 
country. 

He professed himself a State-rights' man, and had as 
high devotion to the Union as any one ; but he did not 
agree with the views of the Senator, that this Eepiiblic 
was a Confederacy of separate and independent States. 
He considered the Constitution as adopted and ratified by 
the united voice of the people. 

What does the Senator from South Carolina mean, by 
interfering with domestic policy ? Would that Senator 
contend, that if the citizens of the free States talked of 
slavery in the abstract, as a sin — a great moral, social, 
and political evil — that they should have their rights 
abridged? Freedom of speech, of the press, and of the 
sacred right of petition, were all sought to be put down 
at one fell swoop. If we could not meet together and 
discuss subjects, and compare conditions with others, for 
evil or for good, we should, instead of progressing in our 
high national destiny, retrograde, and become cyphers. 
Was such a state of things contemplated by the framers 
of the Constitution? He should think not. 

Mr. Morris intended to offer his resolutions as amend- 
ments ; he would not now do so, but would press them on 
the notice of the Senate hereafter. He conceived the 
resolutions of the Senator from South Carolina, as liable 
to the strongest objections, and as warring against the 



104 LIFE OF SENATOR MOBBIS. 

dearest ri2:hts and pri\ • of fr " " al 

from the L urcof ^ ry 

was considercfl a moral and nnd ; that 

it mieht be a1 •<l in the i 

had not that State a riL,'ht ! •• ai tbe 

hands of Conirrc^s, if it t 

to the national honor and pr 

He was not to be i : ^ 

he thou<:lit it his duty to j •. H • waa 

about, and understood his own <■ Id be 

here, as well as elsewhere. 1: ^ and 

exempt from all party restmint*. ax an A:.. . tiacn 

ought to be, and express fnlly and fVoely his 6|MiMvn OD 
every subject before this Body. 

In the arsjuments here on the \'& ^*- ' \. ma: 

were continually rung on the I i. • 

question whether the resolutions '' ol t u- 

ator from South Ci\ 

toward a dissolution ol iho L nmn. it wan not for him 
to say, that they were ii. I to • 

but the country would - n. j: ^ not 

intended to operate against the 1: and of 

the press, they would have that . If tliat rvht is 

put down by the laws of the < y, I must to 

those laws. 

He was responsible alone, to the in xrh'.rh hn Hvrd 

for the abuse of this privilege, and not l^. ;.... i...,.;;.- 

ment. They would not attempt to pmw another - law; 

though the gag-law was a sheet of while p-- - - » 

with those resolutions. Why attempt tin. 
speech and ilie press without a law ? Let the .same i 
be done by law, and then see whether the people imd 
become so base as to permit these privih , bo taken 

from them. All the world could give u T 

compared with the liberty of speech. 

In this contest, he we'll knew with whom he had to 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 105 

engage ; he knew the prejudices that were against him, 
and that his best friends would differ fi-om him. lie had 
loJiolly counted the cost, and resolved to meet every difficulty, and 
do his duty. No objection had been made to the doctrine 
of his resolutions ; but it was to be put down by the 
imputation that it was intended to embarrass. The truth, 
Sir, often embarrassed those who wore in error. It was 
their misfortune. When war was made on the freedom 
of speech, of the press, and the right of petition, these 
inalienable rights must and would be defended. They 
were "Heaven's best gift to man." 

In order to save religion from the reproach of sustain- 
ing the system of slavery, he moved that the terms, 
"moral and religious," be stricken out from the Eesolu- 
tions of Mr. Calhoun ; which was largely voted down ; 
and after some slight alterations, the Senate passed the 
Eesolutions of Mr. Calhoun, by a very large majority. 

The day on which Mr. Morris struggled so earnestly 
against these Eesolutions, was the anniversary^ of his 
birth-day. Eeturning from the Senate Chamber to his 
room, he made the following record in his memorandum- 
book : 

Washington, January 3d, 1838. 

I am this day sixty-two years of age. Forty years 
ago, the 19th of November last, I was married ; and am 
now about fifteen hundred miles from my wife, who is 
now at her daughter's, in the State of Illinois. AYe have 
raised eleven children, eight of whom are still living. 
We began the world poor and friendless, and have strug- 
gled through life with much difficulty. I am now a Sen- 
ator in Congress from the State of Ohio, and have this 
day, in a small minority, been defending the liberty of 
speech, of the press, and of the riglit of petition. Eeso- 
lutions have been introduced declaring, that we have no 
right — either political, moral, or religious — to discuss 
the institutions of any State, with a view to effect a 



106 LIKK OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

change in those institutiont*. The oV* * •« to pre.v.ii ihe 
discussion of slavery in any of the ^ , but the Reto- 
lutions strike at all <: I *' Re^ola- 
tions as the ni<»>t daniiic i» ' '^''^- •» lib- 
erty, that has yet been br d in CougraM, 
since the foundation of the ii« 1 as su< h I 
oppose them. 

In these remarks and renoli. the i not 

fail to see the stern inflex ' c»r | t« 

firmness of a moral hero. He . ;it 

body, in defense <if the dear- • n, 

and in his noble j . _ the mornl 

sublime. JIow, too, are h . fii!filic<ll 

The nation has. indeed, ii , . <.f i. , m, 

rushed to the rescue ; pivinij unm. .. cvidcncwt, that 

the cause which Mr. Morris »o » >'v nustatncd in iht 

Senate of the United *^^^tt,.«», and c. ■. ..ore, will aooo imo* 
in a glorious victorv. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 107 



CHAPTER XIII. 

A SIemorable day in Mr. Morris's History — Mr. Clay's great Speech 
against Abolitionists and Slavery Agitation — Mr. Morris's great 
speech in answer to it. A Southern Senator said Mr. Morris deserved 
expulsion — Reception through the country — A Contrast — Death of 
Calhoun — Clay — Webster — Morris — Eternal nature of Truth. 

The 9th of February, 1839, was a memorable day in 
the political life of Thomas Morris, and in the history of 
the Senate of the United States. On that day he laid the 
corner-stone in the monument of his fame and character, 
in a great speech, replete with the principles of freedom, 
and uttered under the inspiration of their truth and 
importance. It was an occasion of unusual interest. All 
eiforts to prevent agitation on slavery had failed. The 
voice of freedom, ever instinct with life, would be heard, 
and that voice, still rang loud and clear in both halls of 
the National Legislature. Agitators would agitate, and 
the public councils of the nation must be the arena for 
the battle between freedom and slavery. 

Henry Clay, on the 7th of February, 1839, with all hia 
fascinating eloquence, eminent abilities, and great politi- 
cal influence, made a great speech to counteract and arrest 
the public agitation of slavery. He presented "a memo- 
rial from a large number of the inhabitants of the District 
of Columbia, remonstrating against the interference of 
other parts of the country, on the subject of slavery in 
the District, and against any action on the part of Con- 
gress to comply with the objects of the anti-slavery 
petitions." 

In that effort, Mr. Clay admitted the numbers, and 



108 LIFE or PENATOR MORRIS. 

growing influence of the A ^••d 

to employ the instruments of n n, and 

had made their cau»o - and their a: to th© 

ballot-box; he dei n to be < 1 

into the arena of politii^ ; h- • of the 

two great parti- f 

the country; it wa« inex; t, if not ij il 

to abolifih slaver}' in th' .- iho 

purpose of the Al rv in tho 

States; tliey pi slave 

Bj-stem to the country* : that th^r*» obati- 

cles to cmancipnr , that t . •• of 

dollars were in\ . . i in human ' ^inthot.- ^'«; 

that through au uninter'-'^-^'d i-. i of two *..;... .vj, 
under every form of !• '"" ■• ^■'•'* u.-.. »• U|. that 

that is property which lu' i..« i._. i • — j 

that the emancipation of;|he ^-^ ' - - .1 

a servile war, and bo att ' !i. o 

laborers of the North; Uiui ; t, 

be left to the work '' iu li.v 1 wi iho 

next hundred yoarb , iliui a« . .1 

and manifold evils ; that the li' <, ij it 

were possible, could only bo ■ by ^ : i: the 

incontestable rJLrhtfl of the 8t iho I 1, 

and beneath the ruins of the Inion. 1 be i 

Booner or later, the liberty of both r Ho 

adjured the clergy, and en 1 hifl trv-roen, 

and all the inhabitants of th- .0 and 

discountenance measures, that must lead • mr^nt 

calamitous consequences, the ink shH in 
rials might prove a prelude to the blood 

of their brethren." 

''I am no friend to slavery." said Mr r'Uv. •• Tho 
searcher of heart.s knows that every pu. .... n of my 
heart beats high and strong for civil lilirty." ♦• If I could " 
said this great orator, in the hall of Congress, in a colonixa- 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 109 

tion speech, "be the instrument in eradicating this deepest 
stain upon the character of our country, and removing the 
cause of reproach on account of it by foreign nations — if 
I could be instrumental in ridding this foul blot from that 
State which gave me birth, or that not less beloved State 
which kindly adopted me as her son, I would not exchange 
the proud satisfiiction which I should enjoy, for all the 
triumph ever decreed to the most successful conqueror." 

"AY hat would they, who reproach us, have done? If 
they would repress all tendencies toward liberty, they 
must go back to the era of our liberty and independence, 
and muzzle the cannon which thunders its annual joyous 
return. They must revive the slave trade with all its 
train of atrocities. They must suppress the workings of 
British philanthrophy, seeking to ameliorate the condi- 
tion of the unfortunate West India slaves. They must 
arrest the cause of South American deliverance from 
thraldom. 

" They must blow out all the moral lights around us, 
and extinguish the greatest torch of all which America 
presents to a benighted world, pointing the way to their 
rights, to their liberties and their ha|opiness ; and when 
they have achieved all their purposes, their work will 
then be incomplete. They must penetrate the human 
soul, and eradicate the light of reason and liberty. Then 
and not until then, when universal darkness and despair 
prevails, can you perpetuate slavery, and repress all sym- 
pathies, and all human and benevolent effort among free- 
men in behalf of the unha2:)py portion of our race who 
are doomed to bondasre." 

How strangely these stirring words of the orator, 
uttered Jan. 20th, 1827, contrast with his sentiments, and 
doctrines proclaimed in the Senate of the United States, 
February 7th, 1839, when he made an extraordinary effort 
to repress all sympathies among freemen, for the eradi- 





10*1 


k>o n 


in 




u 


of fr 


ii. 



110 LIFE OF HT.yATOK MORRIS. 

cation of wliat he railed the-'i ii. •iid "f>iil 

blot " upon the ehararirr of tho • 

"Who then answoro<I and <•• 
orator and politician ? Let the 
the laniruafi^c of l>r W. II. i 
practical emaiuij^ator. nn<i a tn«d : 

" There were veterans in • nm^ 

talents and learniiiir and nii-jhtx 
guished them as /giants in 
nized amonir the nations of the earth 
American stalesmannhip. There ^ ... . IVnn- 

Bvlvania, the represintalivo of thn r r,f thn nrrh 

that sustains this unito<l T!.r.! nul 

appearance the just index «»i ,. ..>;.« ..wf 

senatorial diijnity. ilis locks ... .. ..»....., v in.iii 

three score years, the :'-•-♦- • lie hud spent 

in the lei^islativc eouiima ui tut.- nawn. Ih. r.< t-..^. traa 

the Senator of the Empire ^* * the calm, • 

the ingenious, the 1- iva.'M>ner, 8il;»* V\ r.-i.i, : 

leader of the administruij. .11 j • T" ; • 

was that mit^hty expounder ol 

representative of the «.ld cradle ol . i 

Webster, whose lot^y brow . d n 

mind that no other man ha,s n , 

to analyze. 

Buchanan and Wri-lit were d 
talismanic title. •• l)om«Mrat. " with -. : rom- 

mand the ean<, the heads, the hearts of the j Web- 

ster bore that no less jKitent title, made noble bv Hovolu- 
tionary scenes and the hallowed name of Wa , H o 

was a AVhiij. 

But no Whiic was there to defend the principles for 
Avhich the fathers of the iU.puhlic risked ibeir lives, 
their fortunes, and their sacred honor, and in the 
faith of which they breathed their In^t ,.r:,v... for their 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. lU 

country. Nor was it the Democratic sage, Buchanan ; 
nor was it Sihis Wright, the jH-emier of the Democratic 
government, whose voice was then heard reverberating 
through that chamber and its galleries, denouncing that 
accursed sentiment, that whatever the law makes pro2)erty 
is property, though it be the bones, and sinews, and blood, 
and souls of men. Alas ! when the illustrious western 
orator uttered this ignoble thought, and, Lucifer-like, fell 
from his empyrean hights, where he had shone a bril- 
liant star among the brightest constellations of South 
American and Grecian memory, even in this debasement 
of himself, l^orthern statesmen " prostrate fell before him 
reverent." And the great Webster himself worshiped 
in silent meditation the master spirits of that Senate 
House, the proud Kentuckian and haughty Carolinian, as 
they grasped hands over the body of the prostrate slave. 
Allj all, did obeisance, except one^ whom neither the 
orator's silvery voice could charm nor his thunders intim- 
idate. That one was Ohio's Senator. He dared to speak 
while tyrant Senators frowned uj)on him. 

Eead that speech, and you know Thomas Morris. His 
life, his soul, is embodied in it. There is his modesty, and 
there is his boldness. There is his generosity and there 
is his faithfulness. There is his uncompromising adher- 
ence to principle, his love of truth, his hatred of slavery, 
his devotion to Libert3^ There is his mental power, his 
eagle vision, his patriotic ardor, his phihmthropic heart; 

• The firm patriot there, 
Who made the welfare of mankind his care.' " 

SPEECH OF SEXATOE MOREIS. 

Mr. PresidExNT — I rise to present for the consideration 
of the Senate, numerous petitions signed by, not only 
citizens of my own State, but citizens of several other 
States — I^ew York, Pennsj'lvania, Michigan, Illinois, and 
Indiana. These petitioners, amounting in number to 



112 LIKK <'r ^t NATO H MORRIS. 

several thousand, have ihon:rht T>r"i»or to make me their 
organ, in communicating I ' _ - their opinions and 
wishes on euljecU which, to ihem, appear of lh« K> 'ho«4 
importance. The»c petition* ^n- arc on tke » *. of 

slavery; the slave-trade as • 1 on within ....« iruui 

this District; the slave-trade i . ..>ccn tho «!''^ -> ui SlatM 

of this Confederacy ; between this ( -■ . va*;, and 

against the admission of that • ~ 'ry lutu tuc Luiou; and 
also again.st that of anyot' ' f • n 

and law.s r ize or poruiii . r« 

tunity to j.riM-nt all ' ^ 

detained some of them fur .. u la my 

hands, in order that i^ .11 a j i of 

the Senate miglit be : up on iheir ; J 

be consistent with a strict r . to the riirhUi of the 

petitioners. And I now j . rnoi»t 

peculiar circunihiat d 

in this or any other country ! iTo-^nt . the heel 

of the petitions which havt ^ v the Senator 

from Kentucky (Mr. Clay), signed by tix jjlar-tii ..f 

this District, prayinL- that C n^r.^s w..n!.| i.-.t rtv»..o 

petitions on tho s. ^ , i of Si -, .... ♦ from 

any body of men or citirens, but t!v • iu4» is 

something new; it is one of the d^ the slave 

power, and most extraordinary* in itMu. i ' « 

lam bound in duty to present —a duty whicii i <L' 
fully perform, fur I . !er it not only a duty 1 * 

honor. The respeciabic na- " " " 

bear, and being : t a itucUcc winm 1 

deprecate and deplore us they can : do, yet 1 well 

knoAv the fate of these petitions; and i - , • w the 
time, place, and disadvantage undrr whu li 1 present 
them. In availing myself of this ■ . to c- .i 

my own views on this agitating and to . i 

justify the character and proceedings of th- 
it must bo obvious to all that 1 am burrounded with no 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 113 

ordinary discouragements. The strong prejudice which 
is evinced by the petitioners of the District, the unwill- 
ingness of the Senate to hear, the power which is arrayed 
against nie on this occasion, as well as in opposition to 
those whose rights I am anxious to maintain ; opposed by 
the very Lions of debate in this Body, w4io are cheered on 
by an applauding gallery and surrounding interests, is 
enough to produce dismay in one far more able and elo- 
quent than the lone and humble individual who now 
addresses you. 

What, Sir, can there be to induce me to appear on this 
public arena, opposed by such powerful odds ? JSTothing, 
Sir, nothing but a strong sense of duty, and a deep con- 
viction that the cause I advocate is just ; that the peti- 
tioners whom I represent are honest, upright, intelligent 
and respectable citizens ; men who love their country, 
who are anxious to promote its best interests, and who 
are actuated by the purest patriotism, as well as the deep- 
est philanthropy and benevolence. In representing such 
men, and in such a cause, though by the most feeble 
means, one would suppose that, on the floor of the Senate 
of the United States, order and a decent respect to the 
opinions of others, would prevail. From the causes 
which I have mentioned, I can hardty hope for this. I 
expect to i)roceed through scenes which ill become this 
Hall ; but nothing shall deter me from a full and faithful 
discharge of my duty on this important occasion. Per- 
mit me, Sir, to remind gentlemen that I have been now 
six years a member of this Eody. I have seldom, per- 
haps too seldom, in the opinion of many of my constitu- 
ents, pressed mj^self upon the notice of the Senate, and 
taken up their time in useless and windy debate. I ques- 
tion very much if I have occupied the time of the Senate 
during the six years, as some gentlemen have during six 
weeks, or even six days. I hope therefore, that I shall 
not be thought obtrusive, or charged with taking up time 
10 



114 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIi. 



with abolition pctitr 

no more about aeilatHi 

has bct,nin the aL' • < AI.e ^• 

tucky (Mr. Clav). Who ha;* n 

and con^'ratuhit«Ml i .te and li.- 

results? The Senator Irom Soulh 

houn). And pray. Sir. under what . 

agitation be^un? 1 • ' * • ' 

the facts from the re 

a member of this Ho !v >.ut a l"i'w • 

resolution as the foui n of j 

tione, gentlemen, as if opcraio<l r»n hv : 

sprung from their seat and r.^ 

And when you, Sir, decided t 

member to introduce »arh ... ;.on •*• 

pleased, being re-^^- • '^ '^^ •■ *■*- " 

Body for the abuM- ui luia u. 

wonder that the Senato had no py>\tr tu ptv 

action of one of it8 • ' •* in ca*- 

poor privilege of havinj; : 

of the Senate, was «!• 

Let the Senator fr »- 

ber that, at the la- » on 

the subject of slavery, ihoy were : h- 

out objection, but printe«i. • on. and •: 1 . and 

let the Senator from Kentucky r ' that the i n 

which he offered against our right. wa.H al : and 

ordered to be ])rinted without a «infjlo •' ; 

and I call on the Senate and t try to i r, 

that the resolutions which I have I on the same 

subject, have not only been r I the printing, but have 

been laid on the table without V-oinrr debated or rvferrcd. 

Posterity, which shall read the ^ ling* of thia time, 

may well wonder what power could induce the Senate of 
the Vnited States to proceed in auch a strange and con- 
tradictory manner. Permit me to tell the country now 



' Iruv. lu iiear 

a here. Who 

"" n Ken- 

likiki :\, 

ou ita 

Mr. Cal- 

in this 

let us collect 

hat when 1, a« 

•a a 

•i- 

n. 
•- nf crerr 

a aa he 

»- *nd thia 
"'"♦i to 

..I the 

*^ '■'*. and the 

bv order 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 115 

what this power behind the throne, greater than the 
throne itself, is. It is the power of SLAVEEY. It is a 
2)ower, according to the calciiLation of the Senator from 
Kentucky, which owns twelve hundred millions of dollars 
in human beings as property ; and if money is power, 
this power is not to be conceived or calculated ; a power 
which claims human property more than double the 
amount which the whole money of the world could pur- 
chase, AYhat can stand before this power ? Truth, ever- 
lasting truth, will yet overthrow it. This power is 
aiming to govern the country, its Constitutions and laws ; 
but it is not certain of success, tremendous as it is, without 
foreio;n or other aid. Let it be borne in mind that the 
Bank power, some years since, during what has been 
called the panic session, had influence sufficient in this 
bod}', and upon this floor, to j)revent the reception of 
petitions against the action of the Senate on their resolu- 
tions of censure against the President. The country took 
instant alarm, and the political complexion of this body 
was changed as soon as possible. The same power though 
double in means and in strength, is now doing the same 
thing. This is the array of power that is even now 
attempting such an unwarrantable course in this country; 
and the people are also now moving against the Slave, as 
they formerly did against the Bank power. It, too, begins 
to tremble for its safety. What is to be done ? Why, 
petitions are received and ordered to be printed, against 
the right of petitions which are not received, and the 
whole power of debate is thrown into the scale with the 
slave-holding power. But all will not do ; these two 
powers must now be united : an amalgamation of the black 
power of the South Avith the white power of the Xorth 
must take place, as either, separately, can not succeed in 
the destruction of the liberty of speech and the press, and 
the right of petition. Let me tell gentlemen, that both 



IIQ LIFE OF HKNATOR SI O » » I » . 

united will never succ ' a^ I said - •'■ r diy. God 

forbid that they shoula ever ruh ' >' 1 hare 

Been this bilhntr and « 

ests for some time ]>a.-i . 1 n. jiri^uic u.cndfi 

of the political party with wh * ' ^ •oted, 

durincr the first week of thi» ■ . . ■ * 

were formini,' a union to w the | 

tration; and I warned them of tl 

thev were doin^ in their 

to slavery. All doubts are now ! 

made by the Senator from Kr iind : 

denunciations of these p. "^jd ' 

hoarlv respon>e and hin • 

met from the Si-nator from South ' 

clearly shows that new movf^ hnv • 

political chejwboard, and n- 

compromises and new bnr-r\:Tm, - . : '-^ 

the rights of the countr th.-. o of politiral 

aspirants. 

The gentleman from South Cap-^'' •!; i alhonr "^ 

seemed, at the conclusion of the ai^^aui-iii made by ii»o 
Senator from Kentucky, to Ik* filled not only with dr^- -^'» 
hut with ecstasy. He told us. that * ^rcdv** nmu 

since iiK had offered a resolution v uirm-d the t 

in favor of the threat ])rii ofStali^ri 

is highly pleased with the - w by Ui«- K 

Senator. All is now safe by ihc ; . The 

South is now consolida' ^ one man ; i* 

epoch in our history, but we have now pa^i^ed it ; it ia * 
beginninix of a moral revolution ; slaverv". so far from 
being a political evil, is a great 1 . have 

been improved by it ; and that abolition ia now nr.AD. and 
will soon be forgotten. So far the ^ .ith 

Carolina, as I understood him. 

But, sir, is this really the case ? U the South united 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 117 

as one man, and is the Senator from Kentucky the great 
center of attraction ? What a lesson to the friends of the 
present Administration, who have been throwing them- 
selves into the arms of the Southern slave-power for 
support ! The black enchantment I hope is now at an 
end — the dream dissolved, and we awake into open day. 
No longer is there any uncertainty or any doubt on this 
subject. But is the great epoch j^assed ? Is it not rather 
just beginning? Is abolitionism dead — or is it just 
awaking into life ? Is the right of petition strangled and 
forgotten — or is it increasing in strength and force? 
These are serious questions for the gentleman's consider- 
ation, that may damjD the ardor of his joy, if examined 
with an impartial mind, and looked at with an unpreju- 
diced eye. Sir, when these pasans were sung over the 
death of abolitionists, and, of course, their right to liberty 
of speech and the press— at least in fancy's eye, we might 
have seen them lying in heaps upon heaps, like the ene- 
mies of the strong man in days of old. But let me bring 
back the gentleman's mind from this delightful scene of 
abolition death, to sober realities and solemn facts. I 
have now lying before me the names of thousands of living 
witnesses, that slavery has not entirely conquered liberty ; 
that abolitionists (for so are all these petitioners called,), 
are not all dead. These are my first proofs to show the 
gentleman his ideas are all fancy. I have also, sir, since 
the commencement of this debate, received a newspaper, 
as if sent by Providence to suit the occasion, and by whom 
I know not. It is the Cincinnati Ee^^ublican of the 2d 
instant, which contains an extract from the Louisville 
Advertiser, a paper printed in Kentucky, in Louisville, 
our sister city ; and though about one hundred and fifty 
miles below us, it is but a few hours distant. That paper 
is the leading Administration journal too, as I am 
informed, in Kentucky. Hear what it says on the death 
of abolition : — 



w« 



118 LIFB OP SENATOR MORETB. 

" ABOr.ITION-ClMINNAll-TUt -l-iJ. Ai-'» 

" We copy the followini? n f an article 

lately puLlislKMl. upon t * 

in tliis quarter. fr'^»m tl>e I. 

'AuoLiliu.N. — incrcauti • --- . • -^ u,, j, • jr 

article wliith we hav' ' ■ • .ua- 

can — a paj>er which lauiy nc * u*c prw » ot 

Democracy ; a : ' ' ' I not lar 

enougli to act Willi luo -• in ' ^, 

or the Wliii: at r, 

give a torrt'c t virw uf i s in 

Cincinnati. There they art' m ; 

trol the city ei« Ui«« 

morals of the ( lone o 

the roost," by vim. 

The lJej)u .r Loco 

F0CO8 — but • <i I 

well-born," of « ant, 

and a disposition to cmpl^v t • 

and blacks in the slav- w. the 

abKCondincj hlave is p. . ' unali. We 

doubt whether an instance can be ii d of ihn rrmvrry 

of a runaway in that place in th- 'ir y- it ..^u 

negroes reach '* the (jucen cil\ vrv p; .. ;e<l by 

its intelligenee, its piety, and ji- «,^,ih. They receive 
the aid of the elite of the llu. ' • «* ; and wo have a 
strong faction in Kentucky, Bin - ^ 'v to make 

her one of the dependen -i i^iiiciuuau . Lot our 

mutual sons go on. The day of mutual rctr ' -i i« at 
hand — much nearer than is now ir i i.o iCopub- 

lican, which still looks with a friemiiy e\e 10 the »lave- 
holding States, warns us of the danger which cxi««ti, 
although its new-born zeal for Whiggcry pi •* it lo 

insist, indirectly, on the right of petitioning < : . •§ to 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 119 

abolish slavery. There are about two hundred and fifty 
abolition societies in Ohio at the present time, and, from 
the circular issued from head quarters, Cincinnati, it 
appears that agents are to be sent through every county 
to distribute books and pamphlets designed to inflame the 
public mind, and then organize additional societies — or, 
rather, form new clans, to aid in the war which has been 
commenced on the slaveholding States.' " 

I do not, sir, underwrite for the truth of this statement 
as an entire whole ; much of it I repel as an unjust charge 
on my fellow-citizens of Cincinnati ; but. as it comes 
from a slaveholding State — from the State of the Senator 
who has so eloquently anathematized abolitionists that it 
is almost a pity they could not die under such sweet 
sounds — and as the South Carolina Senator pronounces 
them dead, 1 produce this from a slaveholding State, for 
the special benefit and consolation of the two Senators. It 
comes from a source to Avhich, I am sure, both gentlemen 
ought to give credit. But suppose, sir, abolitionism is 
.dead, is liberty dead also and slavery triumphant? Is 
liberty of speech, of the press, and the right of petition 
also dead ? True, it has been strangled here ; but gentle- 
men will find themselves in great error if they suppose it 
is also strangled in the country ; and the very attempt in 
legslative bodies, to sustain a local and individual inter- 
est, to the destruction of our rights, i^roves that those 
rights are not dead, but a living principle, which slavery 
can not extinguish ; and be my lot what it may, I shall, to 
the utmost of my abilities, under all circumstances, and 
at all times, contend for that freedom which is the com- 
mon gift of the Creator to all men, and against the power 
of these two great interests — the slave power of the 
South, and banking power of the North — which are now 
uniting to rule this country. The cotton bale and the 
bank note have formed an alliance ; the credit system 
with slave labor. These two congenial spirits have at 



120 LIFE OF 8ENAT0E MOEBIS. 

last met ami embraced each other, both lookinft •* the 
same object — to live upon the ut— «'!itc<i labor ofoth*^'-'* 
and have now erected ' '^ ' ' " ' iimon ' 

form, a^ was intimated liunii^ i »♦ on "" • •• 

the}' can meet, and bid defiance, m^ inv^ nupc, to Ir^e 
principles and free laV ' 

With thtse intr ' • -"^ir, to 

say here, and let iiu oi*e pi l*> *« nd or 

misrepresent me. that I ^iwj 

the word abolitionist.H, tht-v nu-an p- > M 

I now represent — men who h>ve li I 

to slavery — that in behalf of ' •. 

by whatever name they may b« » 

are o})p<)scd to 

no war upon thf riL''htH act bat whAt 

is moral, ( :il and r 

institutions of anv 

own rights, of mv f«dlow y 

State. 1 nhall no 
tinue to th>w. 

I shall, Mr. President, in tho further i- ration of 

this subject, endeavor to prov«^ f^rat tK. ... . the peo* 

pie to petition ; second, why h ;^, .^ .^ " and why I 

am opposed to it; third, tho pow- ! ,,,»,cry in thiB 

country, and its d:- — • :■.- ^r th- •• v. §0 

often asked, what hasu mi; iivt .:-i.iUa lo do wjm eia^cry? 
Then make some remarks by way of answer to the argu- 
ments of the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Cln- 

Mr. President — Tho duty I am r * to piriTm is 

one of the highest which a P .n bo " i 

on to discharge. It is to i u lo ihe 1< .ve 

body the will and the wishes oiiii and i 

citizens; and, in the present cahe. 1 Uei h 
confidence reposed in me, and i d to 

duty. The petitioners have not trusted to my l 
judgment alone, but have declared, in written docui 



LIFE or SENATOR MORRIS. 121 

the most solemn expression of their wiU. It is true, these 
petitions have not been sent here by the whole people of 
the United States, but from a portion of them only; yet 
such is the justice of their claim, and the sure foundation 
upon which it rests, that no portion of the American 
people, until a day or two past, have thought it either safe 
or expedient to present counter petitions ; and even now, 
when counter petitions have been presented, they dare 
not justify slavery, and the selling of men and women in 
this District, but content themselves with objecting to 
others enjoying the rights they practice, and praying 
Congress not to receive or hear petitions from the people 
of the States — a new device of the slave power this, never 
before thought of or practiced in any country. I would 
have been gratified if the inventors of this system, which 
denies to others what they practice themselves, had, in 
their petition, attempted to justify slavery and the slave- 
trade in the District, if they believe their practice just, 
that their names might have gone down to posterity. 
No, Sir ; very few yet have the moral courage to record 
their names to such an avowal ; and even some of these 
petitioners are so squeamish on this subject, as to say that 
they might, from conscientious principles, be prevented 
from holding slaves. IS'ot so. Sir, with the petitioners 
which I have the honor to represent ; they are anxious 
that their sentiments and their names should be made 
matter of record ; they have no qualms of conscience on 
this subject; they have deep convictions and a firm belief 
that slavery is an existing evil, incompatible with the 
principles of political liberty, at war with our system of 
government, and extending a baleful and blasting influ- 
ence over our country, withering and blighting its fliirest 
prospects and brightest hopes. Who has said that these 
petitions are unjust in principle, and on that ground ought 
not to be granted ? AYho has said that slavery is not an 
evil ? Who has said it does not tarnish the fa?r fiime of 
11 



iin«i ^ r 






to 


and 


kKftt 




ik 




m 


In 


Tine, 




•r, 




1 • ^. 



122 LIFE or SENATOR MOEBIli. 

our country ? Whu li;i »n 

and feebleness to oiio race, n 

to another, in its train ? W 

the slave, and iiijuri 

interest of tlie master' Wh<. • 

the bundn of human : bv - 

the husband, and eh 

who has said it is not a blot ujM»n 

and a deep and foul stain a|Mjn her 

very few, perhaps none but him who liv. *: tirn-n Us Inbnr, 

regardless of its misery; f ' -v.... t,,ni ♦ 

uations are within it« jar. 

tice, and deprecate its Cuauima i 

freemen deplore ita cxi»tcncc, ana i i u ith 

etrontc hojie to it.s final terr ■. •• rd, 

like a secret idol, tli ' ' loo 

pronounce<l here but by ihoM' whi» %^ 

and should one who in n h a v n to 

pronounce the word, the mn«it .; 

are immediately pr« ^ 

and the South to take ear- f. 

Do not 8uji]K«-<'. Mr. Pr 
in a forbidden or imjtrovident :. I am 

contendini: with k Itxal and "rv 
which iiasalready banded I ^ icrwith nt tn 

seize upon every avenue by which a } ..:. r ;:...n 

chamber, and exclude all without it.s ., . 1 am not now 

contending fur the right** of tb •• • • -• •- .. i :..|j j^j^ 

Creator gave him and which h .> uiun ua.- uMirped 

or taken away. Xo, sir ! I aiu t-niending fur the righta 
of the white person in the free Stat. I am endeavor- 

ing to prevent them from I • .vn and 

destroj-ed, by that power which * ..iin... il.c Wuivk |H»nM>n as 
property. lam endeavoring to sound tb rin to my 

fellow-citizens that this power, tremend i.s it i«, is 

endeavoring to unito it.M?lf with the monicd power of the 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 123 

coiintiy, in order to extend its dominion and perj^etuate 
its existence. I am endeavoring to drive from the back 
of the negro slave, the politician who has seated himself there 
to ride into office for the purpose of carrying out the 
object of this unholy combination. 

The chains of slavery are sufficiently strong, without 
being riveted anew by tinkering politicians of the free 
States. I feel myself compelled into this contest, in 
defense of the institutions of my own State, the persons 
and firesides of her citizens, from the insatiable grasp of 
the slaveholding power as being used and felt in the 
free States. To say that I am opposed to slavery in the 
abstract, are but cold and unmeaning words ; if, however 
capable of any meaning whatever, they may be fairly con- 
strued into a love for its existence ; and such I sincerely 
believe to be the feeling of many in the free States who 
use the phrase. I, sir, am not only opposed to slavery in 
the abstract, but also in its whole volume, in its theory as 
well as its practice. This principle is deeply implanted 
within me; it has "grown with my growth and strength- 
ened with my strength." In my infant years I learned to 
hate slavery. Your fathers taught me it was wrong in 
their Declaration of Independence : the doctrines which 
they promulgated to the world, and upon the truth of 
which they staked the issue of the contest that made us 
a nation. They proclaimed -that all men are created 
equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with cer- 
tain inalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty 
and the pursuit of happiness." These truths are solemnly 
declared by them. I believed then, and believe now, they 
are self-evident. Who can acknowledge this, and not be 
opposed to slavery ? It is, then, because I love the prin- 
ciples which brought your Government into existence, 
and which have become the corner-stone of the building 
supporting you, sir, in that chair, and giving to myself 
and other Senators seats in this body — it is because I 



124 LIFE or PEXATOR MORRIS. 

love all this, that I hate j*laverv. I* it ' *o I runlond 

for the riffht of petition, and am * cry, that 

I have been denounced hv many a* an a' 

Vir^nnia newspapers have w) <i i 

upon the Lei^islature of my nwt :i 

pultiie confidence. Who i. • m** t*> haf^ -v and 

every other oppr< ? ./ 

JelVerson I Ve**. IVryi'/iiVi .^ «, it v own. 

eon, Vir£,nnia'3 favorite Ron. a man who did m-re for the 

natural libertv of man. and the civil lil»crtv . ...- coun. 

trv, than anv man that over livi'd in ""»■ « ""vtnr ; it waa 

him who taught me to hate slaver}' ; .. "..- .a hia Mhool 

I was brought up. That 3Ir. JefTonion was at rooch 

opposed to slavery a« any man that ever lived in our 

country, there can bo no doubt ; his life and bin writin^ra 

abundantly prove the fact. I hold in my hand n • aa 

he i)cnned it, of the al draft of ll ^ 

Indeju'ndence. a pari •.! which w 

Bays, in compliance with the v ii \ „ 

and fioori^in. I will read it. 

done us by the liritinh (i.»v. r: '.ini- 

among us. ho says: -Ho (tlic I hax 1 

cruel war against human nature ji-.-li. \ iu n 

sacred right of life and liberty in iho 

people, who never otlVnded him. - nnd rarr\ 

them into slavery in another b. to in. iir 

miserable death in their tranv Thin 

piratical warfare, the opprobrium of intidid Powcn*. is the 

warfare of the Christian King of (;reat Britain T>. f.-r- 

mined to keep open a market whert- men shr.uld U '. iir 

and SOLD, he has prostituted his pn-i-.. -.'ive for stipprei^H- 
ing every legislative attempt to pr i or - 'rain exe- 
crable commerce, and that this assvmbla^v ui h..rrura 
might want no fact of distinguished die, he in now exciC 
those very people to rise in arms against us, and pureb;.- 
that liberty of which he has deprived thom bv murder - 



LIFE OF SENATOR 31 ORRIS. 125 

the people on whom he has also obtruded them, thus 
paying oif former crimes committed against the liberties 
of one peoj^le, with crimes which he urges them to com- 
mit against the lives of another." Thus far this great 
statesman and philanthropist. Had his cotemporaries 
been ruled by his opinions, the country had now been at 
rest on this exciting topic. What abolitionist, sir, has 
used stronger language against slavery than Mr. Jefferson 
has done? "Cruel war against human nature," "violat- 
ing its most sacred rights," "piratical warfare," " oppro- 
brium, of infidel Powers," "a market where men should be 
bought and sold," "execrable commerce," "assemblage of 
horrors," "crimes committed against the liberty of the 
people," are the brands which Mr. Jefferson has burned 
into the forehead of slavery and the slave trade. 

When sir, have I, or any other person opposed to 
slavery, spoken in stronger and more opprobrious terms 
of slavery, than this ? You have caused the bust of this 
great man to be placed in the center of your Capitol, in that 
conspicuous part where every visitor must see it, with its 
hand resting on the Declaration of Independence, engraved 
upon marble. Why have you done this ? Is it not mockery ? 
Or is it to remind us continually of the wickedness and 
danger of slavery ? I never j^ass that statue without new 
and increased veneration for the man it rej)resents, and 
increased repugnance and sorrow that he did not succeed 
in driving slavery entirely from the country. Sir, if I 
am an Abolitionist, Jefferson made me so ; and I only 
regret that the disciple should be so far behind the master, 
both in doctrine and practice. But, sir, other reasons 
and other causes have combined to fix and establish my 
principles in this matter, never, I trust to be shaken. A 
free State was the jDlace of my birth ; a free Territory the 
theater of my juvenile actions. Ohio is my country, en- 
deared to me by every fond recollection. She gave me 
political existence, and taught me in her political school ; 



126 



LIFE OP 8KNATOR 31 O R R I fl 



} 



»v 



• • • * - ■ 



and I should bo worse than an ii 

or disobey her preco|»t««. In her < 

"That all men are b 

and '• that th. 

servitude in the State, otlicrAv 

of crimes.' di 1 htand up 

dcmned as ii is bv such ! 

never ! liut tliis is - 

eister, eiid^ 

State formed in tht 

ritory shivery w.. 

July, 17*7 -:: ? • hn-* 

slavery in nu»r«' 

done. In her ' . 

involuntary servitude, beiu^ 
ehe deelarc-4, ...it an the 
human creation in slavery, or ^i. 

originate only in '■" ■ • ! 

her Constitution r.u_ui'i lmt i 

slavery or involuntary servituuc 

than for the punishment of 

been dul}' convi( • ' ' ! ' 

their Constitutiohb un th- 

cloud of witn« 

is so clear and ». xj-IkiI, ;; 

recreant to every principle ol 

found the ape' or adv« 

or in any country whatever 

sistent as to say I am oj 

in its separation from a human I 

aid to build it up, and make it perjK.iual in 

and effects upon man in this or any other 

also, in early life, saw a slave kneel u'f.rr. }.u ,.. 

hold up his hands with as much apj 



U 



ti<«. a 



.■I 
havo 
V or 



ol 



Miiti 



i a 



t4) f»lnv»TV in the 



m 



D- 

my 

.'jn 

I 

•nd 

n. 



humility, and adoration, as a man would have done i. .-ro 
His .Maker, while his master with ouUtretched r- ' • ! 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 127 

over him. This, I thought, is slavery ; one man subjected 
to the will and power of another, and the laws affording him 
no protection, and he has to beg pardon of man, because 
he has offended man, (not the laws,) as if his master were 
a superior all powerful being. Yes, this is slavery, 
boasted American Slavery, w^ithout which, it is contended 
even here, the union of these States would be dis- 
solved in a day, yes, even in an hour ! Humiliating 
thought, that w^e are bound together as States by the 
chains of slaver}^ ! It can not be — the blood and the tears 
of slavery form no part of the cement of our Union — and 
it is hoped that by falling on its bands they may never 
corrode nor eat them asunder. We who are opposed to 
and deplore the existence of slavery in our country, are 
frequently asked, both in public and private, what have 
you to do with slavery ? It does not exist in your State ; 
it does not disturb you ! Ah, sir, would to God it were 
so — that w^e had nothing to do w4th slavery, nothing to 
fear from its power, or its action within our own borders — 
that its name and its miseries w^ere unknown to us. But 
this is not our lot ; we live upon its borders, and in hear- 
ing of its cries ; yet we are unwilling to acknowledge, that 
if we enter its territories and violate its laws, that we 
should be punished at its pleasure. We do not complain 
of this, though it might well be considered just ground of 
complaint. It is our firesides, our rights, our privileges, 
the safety of our friends, as well as the sovereignty and 
independence of our State, that we are now called upon 
to protect and defend. The slave interest has at this 
moment the wdiole power of the country in its hands. It 
claims the President as a Northern man w^ith Southern 
feelings, thus making the Chief Magistrate the head of an 
interest, or a party, and not of the country and the people 
at large. It has the cabinet of the President, three mem- 
bers of wdiich are from the slave States, and one who 
wrote a book in favor of Southern slavery, but which fell 



123 LIFE OF SENATOR MORftlA. 

dead tioin the prcbs, a book which I h.nvo sven, in my 

own family, thrown musty npon th*' Urr then if 

a decided majority in favor of the ll han 

five out of nine jii' "- -r ♦'•- '^•••" ^ ^""•••'^ '• 

is a majority froiii luv ?4.v«- •••' 

President of the Sonato. and the '' " r 

Representatives, and the Clerk* ui u-jlu li.- aiiuj 

and the navv : and the bureaus*, have. I am i jiu, about 
the same proportion. 

One would sir that, with uU l ■ ^ 

in this Government, it would " I 

will use the word y t lu I 

us. who live in the fr % to « i 
our homes in quie: but this 

slaveholders and slave laws claim t i 
the free States know onlv . a r« 

m 

erty, which, of its own will and mi-r«» » 

quently found in our St. and 

sometimes bestow food and r.. t, if r 

and perishing. Wlievinjf it to be n 

perhaps is owing to our want of ... .. . fr thn 

process by which a man is convort..! intr. n 

this act of ours, which is not v»- .... .-»,,j ; ..; 

prompted by every feolini;. i ...i^.,.»u »ud humane, the 

slaveholding power enters our terr"' -■ •- - 

foot the sovereignty of our State. Vi .iai^.a ; 

private residence, seizes our ciiiz- 

the authority of our laws, trn 

jurisdiction, casts them into i 

ters, and loads them with 

against their own laws, found by v .;.d ju 

upon the oath, (to use the lai. i the late (iovern-r 

of Ohio), of a perjured villain. Is this i. or in it : 

sober reality, solemn fact ? Need I say all thin, and mnch 

more, is now matter of history in tl, .f the I:. 

John ?,. :Mahan. of Brown county. Ohio? Ye«. it ia j»o ; 







' r 




.ly 

1 


uf 

ing 




1 «j 


>wn 


til 


in 





LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 129 

but this is but the beginning — a case of equal outrage 
has lately occurred, if newspapers are to be relied on, in 
the seizure of a citizen of Ohio, without even the forms 
of law, and who w^as carried into Virginia and shame- 
fully punished by tar and feathers, and other disgraceful 
means, and rode upon a rail, according to the order of 
Judge Lynch, and this, only because in Ohio he was an 
abolitionist. Would I could stop here — but I can not. 
I'his slave interest or power seizes upon persons of color 
in our States, carries them into States w^iere men are 
property, and makes merchandize of them, sometimes 
under sanction of law, but more properly by its abuse, 
and sometimes by mere personal force, thus disturbing 
our quiet and harassing our citizens. A case of this kind 
has lately occurred, where a colored boy was seduced 
from Ohio into Indiana, taken from thence into Alabama, 
and sold as a slave ; and to the honor of the slave States, 
and gentlemen who administer the laws there, be it said, 
that many who have thus been taken and sold by the con- 
nivance, if not downright corruption, of citizens in the 
free States, have been liberated and adjudged free in the 
States where they have been sold, as was the case of the 
boy mentioned who w^as sold in Alabama. 

Slave power is seeking to establish itself in every State, 
in defiance of the Constitution and laws of the States 
within which it is prohibited. In order to secure its 
power beyond the reach of the States, it claims its paren- 
tajxe from the Constitution of the United States. It 
demands of us total silence as to its proceedings, denies 
to our citizens the liberty of speech and the press, and 
punishes them by mobs and violence for the exercise of 
these rights. It has sent its agents into the free States 
for the purjiose of influencing their Legislatures to pass 
laws for the security of its power within such States, and 
for the enacting new offenses and new punishments for 



ir,o 



LIFE OP SENATOR MOHHIM 



-1 



n t 



(heir own citizens, so as to ^ive adililional security to its 
interest. It demands to be • ' "t» it« own |>cnion in 

the liall of our L- ' ^ure, 

Sir, in every sta^o ui iiict»c ■ 

mit me to sav, in the 1 

Inile|>endence — and no 1. 

priate — we have 

ble terms, and our r« 

by repeated injury. A 

by every act whieh may •; 

over a Tree j I 

have l)eSoUijht our felh'W 

ration of our Cons!' r 

love of ijain or ar 

regarded all the . . : _ 

violence, liurninijs and niiirrirr 

tions. whieh are now of | 

record, nhall we of tlie fr». 

what we have to do with h\u\ 

indeed, if the evils of slavery were r 

that it could be said with truth, that 

do with slavery. Our • 

tories for the ])urj><>so ot « 

wish to do so, nor would wc 

act ; yet we have been br 

friends and ad\ ii in th- 

as incendiaries, lunatics, tl: 

country, and as wishinir to di»s4^»lvo tho I'l 

borne all this without . t or 

ask to be secure in our pe: bv onr own 

in the free exercise of our own : 

speaking, writing, printing and i>i. 

of slavery, that which appears to os t 



lei • 'here, 
por- 

ul lUki IJi '\ of 

Ul- 

■ d 



:it to rule 

'4 we 

r- 

. the 

*- 

<\ nnnwered in 

c- traiisao- 

**»»d matter of 

v he asked 

< « e Mi'juld r ■ "'~e, 

' far ffum us, 

' I? to 

: ih1 ii* icrri- 

lU laws, nor do we 



anv 



al in such 
by its 

«♦ 
to our 

Wr have 
nnd only 
and 
u 

nt' on the hubirrt 
"*«t and rii,... . 



because wo all know the power of truth, ..;... that it will 
ultimately prevail, in despito cf all opposition. But in 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 131 

the exercise of all these rights, we acknowledge subjection 
to the laws of the State in which we are, and our liability 
for their abuse. 

W^e wish peace with all men ; and that the most ami- 
cable relations and free intercourse may exist between 
the citizens of our State and our neighboring slaveholding 
States ; we will not enter their States, either in our 
proper persons, or by commissioners, legislative resolu- 
tions, or otherwise, to interfere with their slave policy or 
slave laws; and we shall expect from them and their citi- 
zens a like return, that they do not enter our territories 
for the purpose of violating our laws in the punishment 
of our people for the exercise of their undoubted rights : 
the liberty of speech and of the press on the subject of 
slaver}'. We ask that no man shall be seized and trans- 
ported beyond our State, in violation of our own laws, 
and that we shall not be carried into and imprisoned in 
another State for acts done in our own. We contend 
that the slaveholding ^oower is properly chargeable with 
all the riots and disorders which take place on account of 
slavery. We can live in peace with all our sister States, if 
that power will be controlled by law, each can exercise 
and enjoy the full benefits secured by their own laws ; 
and this is all we ask. If we hold up slavery to the view 
of an impartial public as it is, and if such view create 
astonishment and indignation, surely we are not to be 
charsred as libelers. A State institution ouerht to be con- 
sidcred the pride, not the shame of the State ; and if we 
falsify such institutions, the disgrace is ours, not theirs. 
If slavery, however, is a blemish, a blot, an eating cancer 
in the body politic, it is not our fault, if, by holding it up, 
others should see in the mirror of truth its deformity, and 
shrink back from the view. 

We have not, and we intend not to use any weapons 
against slavery, but the moral power of truth and the 
force of public opinion. If we enter the slave States, and 



132 MFK or BKXATOR M O K R 1 .4 . 

tamper with the slave • ry to l»w. punUh at — we 

deserve it; and if a ^ <t in 1 in a fr 

and is icuilty of a breadi oi tho law i 
to be j)uni>hed. 

These petitioner!* as far as I ui i 

all right to enter a siav- the } 

course with the slave. It is tho mnjiter 
to addrt ss ; and they a>k and ' to fi 

from the laws, as th»'V nro w h«» - 1 |iv 

laws. We invito tli .a of put .. 

discu>.''iun in our .Statc»; we arc willin »^ to hear hitt rrr^s. n^ 

and facts in favor of glavt ; . . . ..^ ni -,>... l.t;. ., ^ 

we do not fear his errors while m-o ■ .^^ ii»v to 

combat them. The angry f^" . m r-ioie d — 

exist between the citizens <-i tuc ircc And alarehoiuiiij^ 

States, on account of slavery, are, in maIl^ ' %• 

chargeable to those v ' rt and 

Altemj)ts are alnu^st dai.v : , 

of slave laws in tho fr< - , ul icaat, 1 

principles ; and no term ih too r- il to bo ai i 

to those who such a* the ; . 

secured to every man under their own law?* \\ v are 

often reminded that we ought to uko color a« . 

of property in a human bcini; \' • in f»nch 

evidence, nor do we believe that an 

property by human laws. We at . ^. however, 

that a man, not a thifj. may be htid to «^rrvic« or labor 

under the laws of u , and. if he e ^ into another 

State, he ought to be delivered up on ..* of the party 

to whom such labor or service may be due; that l!:!" 
delivery ought to be in pursuance of the laws of ti i- 
State where such person is f.>und, and not by virtue of 
any act of Congress. 

This brings me, Mr. Presideni. to uie . atinn of 

the petition presented by the Senator Iro.u Kentucky, 
and to an examination of the views he has presented to 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 133 

the Senate on this highly important subject. Sir, I feel, 
I sensibly feel my inadequacy in entering into a contro- 
versy with that old and veteran Senator ; but nothing 
high or low shall prevent me from an honest discharge of 
my duties here. If imperfectly done, it may be ascribed 
to the w^ant of ability, not intention. If the power of my 
mind, and the strength of my body, "were equal to the 
task, I would arouse every man, yes, every woman and 
child in the country, to the danger which besets them, if 
such doctrines and views as are presented by the Senator 
should ever be carried into effect. His denunciations are 
against abolitionists, and under that term are classed all 
those who petition Congress on the subject of slavery. 
Such I understand to be his argument, and as such I 
shall treat it. I, in the first place, put in a broad denial 
to all his general facts, charging this portion of my fellow 
citizens with improper motives or dangerous designs. 
That their acts are lawful he does not pretend to deny. 
I called for proof to sustain his charges. Xone such has 
been offered, and none such exist, or can be found. I 
repel them as calumnies doubly-distilled in the alembic 
of slavery. I deny them, also, in the particulars and 
inferences ; and let us see upon what ground they rest, or 
by what process of reasoning they are sustained. 

The very first view of these petitioners against our 
right of petition, strikes the mind that more is intended 
than at first meets the eye. Why was the Committee on 
the District overlooked in this case, and the Senator from 
Kentuckj^ made the organ of communication? Is it 
understood that anti -abolitionism is a passport to popular 
favor, and that the action of this Di^^trict shall present 
for that favor to the public a gentleman upon this hobby? 
Is this petition presented as a subject of tair legislation ? 
Was it solicited by members of Congress, from citizens 
here, for political effect ? Let the country judge. 

The petitioners state that no persons but themselves 



134 LIFE OF SENATOR MOEBIS. 

arc authorized to interfero with »n lac bisirici , 

that Congress arc their own I i iho 

tion of nhivery in the Di 

their confititut »il 

interference ol" < •« i* • 

open |M»sition in lavor <•! - 

manner, >ay t: 

might be forbidden by r 

is more did 

doctrine in this I h 

couched together in r^o inanv '•• 

OWN Lei^nr^lature in all that 

those who may put on th^ ritv ...... 

them and nut for their t • «•' _. .1, I 

came here with a difTereiti ...»,..... .- . ••?-•- 

SCSI, I came a free man, to r * •* 

and I intend to leave this a> wuu' ut 

wearing any otlier livery. \\ u\ ■ 

usurpation and i' ' -■* .' 

I have always vif»\t'l \.iht> i 

danLTtrous than that of : it Uur* \tvvu 

al>ie to extort, yes. « < > to pay 

District debts, niako i .in Rop- 

port of the civil an»i of the 

District. Pray, sir, what ri^lit I 
corporatf debts c»f the in th 

debts of tho corporate • in vour 

None. sir. Yet this has bven »i . a vit iit, and 

the next step is. that we. who pay all this «hall not be 
permitted to petition Congress on th. .. t of their 
institutions, for. if we can bo prevent^ in ... cane, w© 
can in all pu.^sible casrs. Mark, sir. how plain a Ule will 
silence these petitioners. If slav -• iu tb« District 
concerns only the inhabitants an<i - . do all 

municipal regulations. Should the> ^■xii:ua lo granting 
lottery, gaming-houses, tippling- hou ' r pX^cm 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 135 

calculated to promote and encourage vice — should a 
representative in Congress be instructed by his constitu- 
ents to use his influence, and vote against such establish- 
ments, and the people of the District should instruct him 
to vote for them, Avhich should he obey ? To state the 
question is to answer it ; otherwise the boasted right of 
instruction by the constituent body is " mere sound," 
signifying nothing. Sir, the inhabitants of this District 
are subject to State legislation and State policy ; they can 
not complain of this, for their condition is voluntary; 
and as this city is the focus of power, of influence, and 
considered also that of fashion, if not of folly; and as the 
streams which flow from here irradiate the whole country, 
it is proper, that it should be subject to State policy and 
State power, and not used as a leaven to ferment and 
corrupt the whole body politic. 

The honorable Senator has said the petition, though 
from a city, is the fair expression of the opinion of the 
District. As such I treated it, am willing to acknowledge 
the respectability of the petitioners and their rights, and 
I claim for the people of my own State equal respecta- 
bility and equal rights to those the people of the District 
are entitled to : any peculiar rights and advantages I 
can not admit. 

I agree with the Senator, that the proceedings on aboli- 
tion petitions, heretofore, have not been the most wise 
and prudent course. They ought to have been referred 
and acted on. Such was my object, a day or two since, 
when I laid on your table a resolution to refer them to a 
committee for inquiry. You did not suller it, sir, to be 
printed. The country and posterity will judge between 
the people whom I represent, and those who caused to be 
printed the petition from the city. It can not be possible 
that justice can have been done in both cases. The exclu- 
sive legislation of Congress over the District is as much 
the act of the constituent body, as the general legislation 



136 LIFE or SENATOR MOllllS. 

of Con£rri«»s over the ^ lo the o}»« raij«<ri ux ihi« 

act have the people Will*. I. i i ' ' m- 

selves. 1 can nut. h ^i Utt 

tliat the majority, in i aiM tvii-r peti- 

tions, (lid not intend to • in thU 

parti( ular. They certainiy have 

The Senator admits the u it- 

ble ; that hom- t \>c done lo j harmony. 

Yes. bir, do justice, and 1 1. Act 

ininartiallv, that • ^n 

both sides, if ihcy are 

mcnli*. and your jwoplc will : Yon ran not 

conipruini.-e tlifiii out of their r ■ m lo 

Bleep with f.i -• in the ^ Yon rnn not 

conqtier them by rebuke, nor d. ... . i br ^ ^ ....^try. 

Kemember you can not now inrn pub'-' "• v-r can 

you overthrow it. Yoi? ""-♦ •.•'! « . n the 

hi^h ground you have • uu* ivvi'i>e ytia. The 

reason of the <■■ thr ;i • ' ' ' Tnent uf the 

people, are all ai;aiii-tt you < .c lu i .in **cha*e 

a thousand." and the V' u,u ; • • ^. 

ever you aptale the - i. in I ' a, ii,e ri^ht to 

petition has been most a 

member, against some puns : itur© 

of that State to whitewash slav. i • • . lo read a 

j>arairrnj»h worthy an Am- 

"But who would have th 'v. that any 

would have doubled the riglit i a il 

manner to Coi ? Who wonld hav«» b I, that 

Congress had any autli.irity to i . r the pcti- 

tions of the people? Such a step v. , overthrow the 
Autocrat of Ku.-sia, or cost the (iraud SeiL-ni-.r of C'onstan- 
tinui)le his head. Can it be j -. : . : re. that it 

has been reserved fur a Uepublieau Government, in a land 
boasting of its free institutions, to set the fir»t precedent 
of this kind? Our city cnnnriU onr cuurta of justice. 



LIFE or SENATOR MORRIS. 137 

every department of Government arc approached by 
petition, however unanswerable, or absurd, so that its 
terms are respectful. None go away unread, or unheard. 
The life of every individual is a per^ct illustration of the 
subject of petitioning. Petition is4he,janguage of want, 
of pain, of sorrow^, of man in all his sad variety of woes, 
imploring relief, at the hand of some power superior to 
himself. Petitioning is the foundation of all government, 
and of all the administrations of law. Yet it has been 
reserved for our Congress, seconded indirectly by the 
vote of this Legislature, to question this right, hitherto 
supposed to be so old, so heaven-deeded, so undoubted, 
that our fathers did not think it necessary to place a 
guaranty of it in the first draft of the Federal Constitu- 
tion. Yet this sacred right has been, at one blow, driven, 
destroyed, and trodden under the feet of slavery. The 
old bulwarks of our Federal and State Constitutions seem 
utterly to have been forgotten, which declare — 'that the 
freedom of speech and the press shall not be abridged, 
nor the right of the peojDle peaceably to assemble and 
petition for the redress of their grievances.' " 

These, Sir, are the sentiments vrhich make Abolitionists 
formidable, and set at nought all your councils for their 
overthrow. The honorable Senator not only admits that 
Abolitionists are formidable, but that they consist of 
three classes. The friends of humanity and justice, or 
those actuated by those principles, compose one class. 
These form a very numerous class, and the acknowledg- 
ment of the Senator j^roves the immutable principles 
upon which opposition to slavery rests. Men are opposed 
to it on principles of humanity and justice — men are 
Abolitionists, he admits, on that account. We thank the 
Senator for teaching us that word ; we intend to improve 
it. The next class of Abolitionists, the Senator says, are 
so, apparently, for the purpose of advocating the right of 
petition. What are we to understand from this? That 
12 



138 LIPE or SENATOR MuREIt. 

the right of petition needs advocacy. Who hM denied 
this right, or who ha^ attempted to abridge il? T» »» 
slavehokling power; that powt-r which avoida open 
cushion, and the free . n : il » that po%%cr 

alone whicli renders tin* tt»i - ' - - n 

necessary', having - «ii t'»*.* 

ernment. It is fu>t uniiiiig t . lo iU 

iron rule, no matter to what p have 

heretofore heiongid ; they are ui with ih- i!«»*. 

and act from principles of hi: y and j : 

the mists and shades of slavery were n»a the 

in which gentlemen were on\ •' n>n« 

stanL and increasing i» 1 

intelligent citizens . tw.i . 

mentioned, and rallying under i. . 

ism. They are compi-lled to ir«> thrrr if • i 

will have it so, in order to . ^ jH-tuatc ; .. 

liherlies of the country. The ^ i of the opprf»*cd 

spring up afresh fW)m thi- '^'^ n of the ^ntlcman. 

The third class, the ." . ..vs. ar*' ''•-'' who. to 

accomplish their ends, act without regani i 
To them, all the rights of pn • —v. of t^ 
Union, the Senator says, are n«nii.i;^ li - - lui-y aim 
at other ohjects than those they pr 'i in 

the District of Columbia. No, Mi\» luc r 

object is univrrsnl • in Ihf i> 

but in the Territoru-* uiul in li. '" ir objtci is 

to set free three millions of n< U ho made the 

Senator, in his place here, the • ; of h ' 

Who authorized him to charge them with other • * 

than those they pr How long is it since thr S«-nalor 

himself, on this floor, denounced shivery as an evil? What 
other inducements or object had he then in view? t^ .i 
pose universal emancipation to be th. ct of th- - 

petitioners; is it not a noble and pra :thv 

worthy of the Christian, the philanthropist, the Htateainan. 






LIFE OF sp:nator morris. 1o9 

and the citizen? But the Senator says, they (the peti- 
tioners) aim to excite one j^ortion of the country against 
another. I deny, Sir, this charge, and call for the proof; 
it is gratuitous, uncalled for, and unjust toward iwj fel- 
low citizens. This is the language of a stricken con- 
science, seeking for the palliation of its own acts by 
charging guilt upon others. It is the language of those 
who, failing in argument, endeavor to cast suspicion upon 
the character of their opponents, in order to draw public 
attention from themselves. It is the language of disguise 
and concealment, and not that of fair and honorable 
investigation, the object of which is truth. I again put 
in a broad denial to this charge, that any portion of these 
petitioners, whom I represent, seek to excite one portion 
of the country against another ; and without proof I can 
not admit that the assertion of the honorable Senator 
establishes the fact. It is but opinion, and naked asser- 
tion only. The Senator complains that the means and 
views of the Abolitionists are not confined to securing the 
right of petition only ; no, they resort to other means, he 
affirms, to the ballot box ; and if that fail, says the Sen- 
ator, their next appeal will be to the bayonet. 

Sir, no man, who is an American in feeling and in heart, 
but ought to repel this charge instantly, and without any 
Reservation whatever, that if they fail at the ballot box 
they will resort to the bayonet. If such a fratricidal 
course should ever be thought of in our country, it will 
hot be by those who seek redress of wrongs, by exercising 
the right of petition, but by those only who deny that 
right to others, and seek to usurp the whohe power of the 
Government. If the ballot box fail them, the bayonet 
may be their resort, as mobs and violence now are. Does 
the Senator believe that an}- portion of the honest yeo- 
manry of the country entertain such thoughts ? I hope 
he does not. If thoughts of this kind exist, they are to 
be found in the hearts of aspirants to office, and their 



J40 I- IKE ENATOE Mc.ERi- 

adheruuis, and none others Who, kir, ii makiug this 

question a political affair ' V ••«-•■•:•• -* IlwMth« 

blaveholdinp powtT wliicu uim luauc vm'* iu'«^c. 1 have 
noticed for sonu* time past that many of iho public prinU 
in tliiscitv.as Wflhi ' -• I withe&wivt 

aijainst Aboiitionint* lor • '.» of frvcmen. 

B«)th political parti^•^, h»»wc\cr, Umw 'M ihcm in 

private and di-nouiiccd tlicni in p and both hmre 

equally docrivid li. And who nhail dar« tay that an 

Abolitionist ha** no righl to carry hi» ] * to the 

ballot barf h 

the lover of our country and i' It 

is feared bv the tyrant hf who » 

upon the lilx'rty of « h^. for oi th«» 

box. Where is the •» \* in • h 

BO lost to his own . ^ y. or h\ int : t or 

power, that he docs not. or w - T.rir. .• ...a 

ami his judgment into the I : , *n on« 

ought to have the mark of Cain in his f..r..K.>«-f n,..\ >»o»ent 
to labor amont^ the negro slaves of th^ . ■ v»i». . ..o hon- 
orable Senator seems anxious to tAk« ander hi« care th« 
ballot box, as he has the alave - ••m of the rountrv. 
and direct who shall or who auaa : * • ' r the 

redress of what they doom .••. ' ' tee 

the power of the Kxecutive L hMir - .-r ita 

care the right of voting, who ► .n.v 

portion of our citizens who t^' . tarry with thcrii 

to the polls of . n their own oi t»da, and 

doctrines. This would at oiue be a death-blow to r.ir 
liberties, and the remedy could only bo ; : in revolu- 

tion. There can be no excu.se or pretext f.r revo 
while the ballot box is free. Our (iov.-rnmont is not < ,,. 
of force, but of principle; its foun.: > on j 

opinion, and its hope is in the morality of the nation. 
The moral power of that of the ballot Utx is suflicient to 
correct all abuses. ImX mo, then, proclaim here, from this 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 141 

high arena, to the citizens not only of my own State, but 
to the country, to all sects and parties who are entitled to 
the right of suffrage, To the ballot box ! carry with you 
honestly your own sentiments respecting the welfare of 
your country, and make them operate as effectually as 
you can, through that medium, upon its policy and for its 
prosperity. Fear not the frowns of power. It trembles 
while it denounces you. The Senator complains that the 
Abolitionists have associated with the politics of the 
country. So far as I am capable of judging, this charge 
is not well founded ; many politicians of the country have 
used Abolitionists as stepping stones to mount into power ; 
and, when there, have turned about and traduced them. 
He admits that political parties are willing to unite with 
them any class of men, in order to carry their purposes. 
Are Abolitionists, then, to blame if they pursue the same 
course ? It seems the Senator is willing that his party 
should make use of even Abolitionists ; but he is not wil- 
ling that Abolitionists should use the same party for their 
purpose. This seems not to be in accordance with that 
equality of rights about which we heard so much at the 
last session. Abolitionists have nothing to fear. If pub- 
lic opinion should be for them, politicians will be around 
and among them as the locusts of Egj^pt. The Senator 
seems to admit that, if the Abolitionists are joined to 
either party, there is danger — danger of what? That 
humanity and justice will prevail ? that the right of peti- 
tion will be secured to all equally ? and that the long- 
lost and trodden African race will be restored to their 
natural rights? Would the Senator regret to see this 
accomplished by argument, persuasion, and the force of 
an enlightened public opinion? I hope not; and these 
petitioners ask the use of no other weapons in this warfare. 
These ultra-abolitionists, says the Senator, invoke the 
power of this Government to their aid. And pray, sir, 
what power should they invoke? Have they not the 



^42 LIFE or SENATOR MOIlllIS. 

game rlc,'ht to approach this Govorhmiut aj» other m«if 

Is iho Senator or this bo<ly auth ' * them any 

privilcfjes socurofl toother • *»i"^ »how 

me the charter (»r his power ami I vs.ilUj - I nlil 

he can do this, I shall uphohl. ju 

as I do other cilir «>» p*»«»«?r by Oun- 

gross in behalf of th »n lhi« V 

Senator seems to think, no on© v ^ 

the least claim l'> a.nk : I le w. 

the District, and am » " it by t 

that I oLjcet to the ex ' '• ■•> > " 

gentleman-, lion, then, on this . '.i.-ii. 

we are equal. 

The Senator, however, war with h 
contends the object of the n hv t! - of \ ir- 

ginia and Maryland, was to i ... - at of Govern- 
ment onli/, and to give C*'»"'»'' -• wl.it.r^r power was 
necessary to render the Di-^.- . .. .... ••' -^ ■ mforl- 

able situation for that pur: - -• ' • have 

full power to do whatever »a ; . i"i mij"? i'*»»trict; 

and if to abolish slavery b« i. ~ *o attain that 

object, Congress have p'»wer to ;. * .slavery io lh« 

District. I am sure I quote t) iD subatantially ; 

and I thank him for this p: n in bin argu- 

ment ; it is what I ' i 1 kiiuw ii m all I feel <1 - 

posed to ask. If we run, men, prove that thiu !• i »• 

not as comfortable and convcnjenl a ; the • 

rations of Co: , and the « > 

may visit it, while slavery » as it '> • b« 

without slavery, then slavery onirht to b : ; and 

I trust we shall have the d. i. 

lucky to aid us in this great national reformat in I t 
the Senator at his word. I ULrree with him that this ought 
to be such a place as he has described ; but I deny that it 
is 60. And upon what facts do I rest my denial? We 
are a Christian nation, a moral and religious people. I 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 143 

speak for the free States, at least for my own State ; and 
what a contrast do the very streets of your capital daily 
present to the Christianity and morality of the nation ? 
A race of slaves, or at least colored persons, of every hue 
from the jet-black African, in regular gradation, up to the 
almost pure Anglo-Saxon color. During the short time 
official duty has called me here, I have seen the really red 
haired, the freckled, and the almost white negro ; and I 
have been astonished at the number of the mixed race, 
when compared with those of full color, and I have deeply 
deplored this stain upon our national morals ; and the 
words of Dr. Channing have, thousands of times, been 
impressed on my mind, that " a slave country reeks with 
licentiousness." How comes this amalgamation of the 
races ? It comes from slavery. It is a disagreeable 
annoyance to those who come from the free States, espe- 
cially to their Christian and moral feelings. It is a great 
hindrance to the proper discharge of their duties while 
here. Remove slavery from this District, and this evil 
will disappear. We argue this circumstance alone as suf- 
ficient cause to produce this effect. But slavery presents 
within the District other and still more appalling scenes ; 
scenes well calculated to a^vaken the deepest feelings of 
the human heart. The slave-trade exists here in all its 
HORRORS, and unwhipt of all its crimes. In view of the 
very chair which you now occup}^, Mr. President, if the 
massy walls of this building did not prevent it, you could 
see the prison, the pen^ the hell, where human beings, 
when purchased for sale, are kept until a cargo can be 
procured for transportation to a Southern or foreign mar- 
ket; for I have little doubt slaves are carried to Texas for 
sale, though I do not know the fact. 

Sir, since Congress have been in session, a mournful 
group of these unhappy beings, some thirty or forty, 
were marched, as if in derision of members of Congress, 
in view of your Capitol, chained and manacled together, 



114 LIFE OF SENATOR MOBBIS. 

in open day-light, yes, in the very face of Ileavcu juclf, 

to be shipped at Baltimore for a i L 1 did 

not witness this cruel tr: '■'"^ I 

have heard and believe, is liiis 1> , a Ul pia- •• 

for our deliber;^ ' 

impunity with tra: - like t 

mournl\il and <. '- 

exhibited under the wi. . do \ . 

think the Senate (ould d- » 

that composure and . i m*? 

Ko, Sir; all your i. \^.: rtr>i \ r for • 

a moment. The 1- •»• 

those of retrard for the J •- ^ «ftheSuilot; 

and though we would be ))olitically and \>. ^...-^ V'^nnd not 
to interlere, we arc not morally l*- " ' lo * d our 

sympathy and our execration, in wr ■ ' fot .. ..•human 

traftic. This traffic alone, in this j_' - • ' -^ it an 

uncomfortable and unfit place for your rjvai ui uovem- 
mcnt. Sir, it is but one or two y< o I taw ataad* 

ing at the railroad depot, as I ] . my boardinf^ 

bouse to this Cl>: and tcamft, aa 

if waiting for friMiihi , Ihv carv iiad noi then arriv. T 

was inquired of, wh. n I returned to my !«' : .% 

landlady, if I knew the object of • hi 

saw in the morning? I nplied. I liid v 

came and were wai' 1 

she; 'and one of those wag" »im § 

and little girls, who had been t up i . ;.- 

try. and were lo be taken to a ^ -rn mar. \ -.r!" 

continued she, "it made my ver>- heart acho to ace iheni." 
The very recital unnerved and untitled mr for thouf^ht or 
reflection on any other subject for »«<»me t... It i«i ^r.-non 
like this, of wiiich ladies of my country and m\ . ...o 
complained in their petitions, some lime since, as render- 
ing this ])istriet unple:isant, should they visit the capiul 
of the nation ns wives, sisters, daughtom or friends of 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 145 

members of Congress. Yet, Sir, those respectable females 
were treated with contemptuous sneers ; they were com- 
pared, on this floor, to the fish-women of Paris, who 
dipped their fingers in the blood of revolutionary France. 
Sir, if the transaction in slaves here, which I have men- 
tioned, could make such an imj^ression on the heart of a 
lady, a resident of the District, one who had been used to 
slaves, and was probably an owner, what would be the 
feelings of ladies from the free States on beholding a like 
transaction? I will leave every gentleman and every 
lady to answer for themselves. I am unable to describe 
it. Shall the capital of your countrj^ longer exhibit 
scenes so revolting to humanity, that the ladies of your 
country can not visit it without disgust? l^o; wipe off 
the foul stain, and let it become a suitable and comfortable 
place for the Seat of Government. 

The Senator, as if conscious that his argument on this 
point had proved too much, and of course had proven the 
converse of what he wished to establish, concluded this 
part by saying, that if slavery is abolished, the act ought 
to be confined to the city alone. We thank him for this 
small sprinkling of correct opinion upon this arid waste 
of public feeling. Liberty may yet vegetate and grow 
even here. 

The Senator insists that the States of Virginia and 
Maryland would never have ceded this District if they 
had thought slavery would have been abolished in 
it. This is an old story twice told. It was never, how- 
ever, thought of, until the slave power imagined it, for its 
own security. Let the States ask a retrocession of the 
District, and I am sure the free States will rejoice to make 
the grant. 

The Senator condemns the Abolitionists fur desiring 

that slavery should not exist in the Territories, even in 

Florida. He insists that, by the treaty, the inhabitants 

of that country have the right to remove their effects 

13 



146 LIFE or SENATOR MORBI9. 

when tlu'V plca^o ; and that, by ti ^»»vr 

the right to retain their ^ a* • y 

of the power of < ^"^ 

I venture to deny the ■ oi li u- 

ment. In all our ii. '" 

our treaties in which t • •'^ 

used, slaves have nevor >w»on *> In 

all caseH in which »1; -o- 

versy, they are npeeially nnnu d 

and, if I rememWr rir^t!v ir h d in Ton- 

gress. that slaves are n - "* '***' ** 

tion shall be made wh*" .. . . , •r, 

slaves can not be c"- - i n- »"t..n f..r r.. . . ., or 

as property by the vn- . -y. wh. .. ;--,. .... . ' **••• ^-rvioc 

of the United Statwi. If I r • -- T .... i am, 

in the position I have ai»*uniti. iuv . *" ""'* ^av 

nothing, by this part of his . ^xun- 

ists. for askinir that ' ' »u ri ^ruja 

The pentleman • ' rn«>vc 

slaves from one Statr t >u ibal 

part of the Constitution 

to regulate commerce within t u- 

ment is a non trquittir. u? 
prove that slaves are ; r arluU-* I 

say that C'ontrrcss have j>ower • 
The United States can | 
them property, and they havi» fii 
commerce, and can. in such 
operations ever}- thinp but property ; pj 
by the laws of nature, and not by any mun , , 1: 

tions. The dominion of men over thin^. an property, 
was settled by his fVeator when man wa* finit placed 

upon the earth. IK- was to subdue th "-'h and have 

dominion over the fish of the sea, and l»,.. .- <.; ihc air. and 
over every living thing that moveth npon the earth ; 
every herb bearing seed, and the fruit of the trooyir' '•- 7 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 147 

seed, was given for his use. This is tlie foiuidation of all 
right in property of every description. It is for the use 
of man the grant is made, and of course man can not be 
included in the grant. Every municipal regulation, then, 
of any State, or any of its peculiar institutions, which 
makes man property, is a violation of this great law of 
nature, and is founded in usurpation and tyranny, and is 
accomplished by force, fraud, or an abuse of power. It is a 
violation of the principles of truth and justice, in subject- 
ing the weaker to the stronger man. In a Christian 
nation such property can form no just ground for commer- 
cial regulations, but ought to be strictly prohibited. I 
therefore believe it is the duty of Congress, by virtue of 
this power to regulate commerce, to j)rohibit, at once, 
slaves being used as articles of trade. 

The gentleman says, the Constitution left the subject 
of slavery entirely to the States. To this position I 
assent ; and, as the States can not regulate their own 
commerce, but the same being the right of Congress, that 
body can not make slaves an article of commerce, because 
slavery is left entirely to the States in which it exists ; 
and slaves within these States, according to the gentle- 
man, are excluded from the power of Congress. Can 
Congress, in regulating commerce among the several 
States, authorize the transportation of articles from one 
State, and their sale in another, which they have not 
power so to authorize in any State ? I can not believe in 
such doctrine ; and now solemnly protest against the 
power of Congress to authorize the transportation to, and 
the sale in, Ohio, of any. negro slave whatever, or for any 
possible purpose under the sun. Who is there in Ohio, 
or elsewhere, that will dare deny this position ? If Ohio 
contains such a recreant to her Constitution and policy, I 
hope he may have the boldness to stand forth and avow 
it. If the States in which slavery exists love it as a 
household god, let them keep it there, and not call upon 



148 MFK OF 8EJJATOR MOREIS. 

UB in the free States to offer ii to their idol. Wo do 

not seek to touch it with n: 

pure hands. uj»raised in tlje caime of truth and 

humanity. 

The gentleman admits that, at the t f our 

Government, it wan IVared that slavcrv niijfhl cvcnluaUy 
divide or distract our countr}* ; and, an the ballot b<»x 
seems continually to haunt his Jt"- '<•'"♦•■ •• he aayw there 

m 

is real danger of dij»j»olution of tli« C ii»'i. .: Abolilioniata, 
as is evident they do, will carry their pr- •■^ - into the 
BALLOT BOX. Ifnot di.Hunion in fart, at Icaat m i- '^- in 
the country, which is always the preruraor to the c- t' 

arms. And the gentleman further sa}"^ we are t: 
holy writ, " that the r not t«j t" ^ - ■ . i.huIo 

to the strong." The : of the : -u «» n 

is. that truth and right wiil lil. ihout^h 

posed l)y power an<i i - lh«»ugh 

few in number, ar- itly to be i . an I have 

said, may chase a lhoii>»and. an<l two put ton * I to 

fliglit; and. as their weaj»ons of warfare are not •• ear: 
but mighty to the ])ulling tlown of ^ v. > n 

slavery itself; and a« the ballot box i* th«» irr«'nt moral 
lever in jmlitieal action, the g. ." 

Abolitionists entirely from its use, and f'^r opinion s ••ake. 
deny them this high j»rivilege of every American ritircn. 
Permit me. sir, to remind the gentleman of another text 
of holy writ. '' The wicked flee when no man pumueth, 

but the righteous are bold as a lion." The S * r saya 

that those who have slaves, are sometimefiiiu]f|Mj^vi to be 
under too much alarm. IV>C8 this prove the application 
of the text I have just quoted? *• Conscience myw' * •» 
makes cowards of us all." The Senator appeals to AimjU- 
tionists, and beseeches them to cease their efforta on the 
subject of slavery, if they wish, says he, *' to exerciiM? thoir 
benevolence." What! Abolitionists benevolent ! lie hopes 
they will select some object not so terrible. Oh. sir, be 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 149 

is willing they should pay tithes of " mint and rue," 
but the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy, 
he would have them entirely overlook. I ought to thank 
the Senator for introducing holy writ into this debate, 
and inform him his arguments are not the sentiments of 
Him, who, when on earth, went about doing good. 

The Senator further entreats the clergy to desist from 
their efforts in behalf of Abolitionism. Who authorized 
the Senator, as a politician, to use his influence to point 
out to the clergy what they should pray? Would the 
Senator dare exert his power here to bind the consciences 
of men ? By what rule of ethics, then, does he undertake 
to use his influence, from this high place of power, in 
order to gain the same object, I am at a loss to determine. 
Sir, this movement of the Senator is ftxr more censurable 
and dangerous, as an attempt to unite Church and State, 
than were the petitions against Sunday mails, the report 
in opposition to which gained for you, Mr. President, so 
much applause in the country. I, Sir, also appeal to the 
clergy to maintain their rights of conscience ; and if they 
believe slavery to be a sin, we ought to honor and respect 
them for their open denunciation of it, rather than call on 
them to desist, for between their conscience and their 
God, we have no power to interfere ; we do not wish to 
make them political agents for any purpose. 

But the Senator is not content to entreat the clergy 
alone to desist; he calls on his country-women to warn 
them, also, to cease their efforts, and reminds them that 
the ink shed from the pen held in their fair fingers when 
writing their names to abolition petitions, may be the 
cause of shedding much human blood ! Sir, the language 
toward to this class of petitioners is very much changed of 
late ; they formerly were pronounced idlers, fanatics, old 
women, and school misses, unworthy of respect from 
intelligent and respectable men. I warned gentlemen 
then that they would change their language; the blows 



150 LIFE OF 8F.XAT0E MOEIIS. 

they aimed fell han. at the fcot of t!. 'in 

they were inteiKicd to injure. In thi* v t ol luy 

country-wuincn I t ^' *® ' '*'* 

the operations of Pro\ " "<* «>»•' ^""1 

triumph of MmrrrM/ «/i: ^ '«. AIM 
and i)rofane, both ancient anr! i 
to the etfieacy of female inlK. •• and ^ r in t 
of human liberty. From the t;'-. .-.f thn T.rr«.rrrnti.>n bv 
the hands of women, of the ■'• ..•■ • ■• 

infantile hours, and who w : -r tb- V" 

of freeincj his countrj'men iiuiu i " *^ 

woman b<M n made a jv^wert'^ * m urtuKu 

the rod of the opj»ri-*>Mr. \S .;;» a j-ire and ' 
ted mind, her a< * > the ' ut 

the human heart. i>iii'-iih •*•!*. > ' 

deter her from her duty, i'mti 

and even death in her onwnrd 

march. Even the ' 

for the stake, as for her bridal hour »ke 

sacrifiee of her puritv and <lutv. The • «» of the 

Senate, and clash of arms, aro il when 

brought in oj)jK»sition to the it s%nd virtu 

0U9 woman. The liberty of i w to b« 

committed to her charge, ami who ran d'»!:bt her final 
triumph ? 1 do not. You can not fir^ht her and 

hope for success ; and well dor-H the . ., :. ow thin; 

hence this appeal to her fec....^ to tor. ..^, her fW>m that 
which she believes to bo her duty. It ia a rain ?•.♦♦•••!♦< 
The Senator says that it wa« the principles of • it- 

Btitution which carried us through the Revuiuuon. 
Surely it was; and to use the lai — -o of another Sena- 
tor from a slave State, on a former ' ro the 
very principles on which the Abolition; i*iu*. 
It was the principle that all men aiv U.rn fhek am» 
EQUAL, that nerved the arm of our : ^ in their con* 
for independence. It was for the natural and inherent 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 151 

rights of man they contended. It is a libel upon the Con- 
stitution to say that its object was not liberty, but slavery, 
for millions of the human race. 

The Senator, well fearing that all his eloquence and his 
arguments thus far are but chaff, when weighed in the 
balance against truth and justice, seems to find consola- 
tion in the idea, and says that which opposes the ulterior 
object of Abolitionists, is that the General Government 
has no power to act on the subject of slavery, and that 
the Constitution or the Union would not last an hour if 
the power claimed Avas exercised by Congress. It is 
slavery then, and not liberty, that makes us one people. 
To dissolve slavery, is to dissolve the Union. Why 
require of us to suj^port the Constitution by oath, if the 
Constitution itself is subject to the power of slavery, and 
not the moral power of the country? Change the form 
of the oath which you administer to Senators on taking 
seats here, swear them to support slavery, and according 
to the logic of the gentleman, the Constitution and the 
Union will both be safe. We hear almost dail}' threats 
of dissolving the Union; and from whence do they come? 
From citizens of the free States ? Ko ! From the slave 
States only. Why wish to dissolve it ? The reason is 
plain — that a new government may be formed, by which 
we, as a nation, may be made a slaveholding people. Ko 
impartial observer of passing events can, in my humble 
judgment, doubt the truth of this. The Senator thinks 
the Abolitionists in error, if they wish the slaveholder to 
free his slave. He asks, why denounce him ? I can not 
admit the truth of the question ; but I might Avell ask the 
gentleman, and the slaveholders generally, ''Avhy are you 
angry at me, because I tell you the truth?" It is the 
light of truth which the slaveholder can not endure; a 
plain, unvarnished tale of what slavery is, he considers a 
libel upon himself The foct is, the slaveholder feels the 
leprosy of slavery upon him. He is anxious to hide the 



1 






fslnv 


1 







•• . 




I 


.1 






IJ.... -* 


.r. 


• •> 


ift incam^^ 





152 LIFE OF SENATOR MoRRIf. 

odious disease from the public eye; and the batloi > 

and the rifcht of petition, whon ' ' i. h^ : 

as sharp reproof; and beiu^ uuwii^iU|( to r 

errors, he tries to * i*y 

making ll»e worKl biiievo that lit i** tho j i 

not the persecutor i^ 

this very sosion — -the liaol i v will not boar 

examination." It i« the "^ 

tionisls for the • •* 

rights; wliile A n that only \ 

Senator hinihilf •• !o h^ wr^nir nt all 

tinu's, and under all cii 

that if it was an original qui*«(tion w 

bo introduced among us, but tVw c. 

to agree to it, and none more ..?.!...- 

The argument is, that the c... • . •< 

that the attempt to erad' ■' • it woald €<■ '-nee a atru^* 

glo whicli would extvriuaiutc one rate or the othor 

What a lamentable picture of our (J ' !N n 

pronounced the b<j*t upon earth! 1 - ul • ••, 

whicli were interwoven into its fin»l • 

become so in rated into il.«» frame, liial t 

be extracted uiihuut 

must endure the evil with<uit 

Our very natures must be 

brouuhl tamelv to submit to 

be reniedie<l : and to use the 

'• this people will yet bo free." 1 

lion, however, in the mi<lst of this » 

and caste. The black r: , he) ; 

of slavery in our country. Y, -,. it is color, not ri^ht and 

justice, that is to continue forever slaverj- in our country. 

It is prejudice against color, which is the strr.r..^ ..r.,Mi*.» 

of the slaveholder's hope. U that prejnu.. , ;......».; .;. 

nature, or is it the effect of base and sordid intorent? Let 
the mixed race which wo <^oo l..r.. f..,.ni black to almost 



ba 


I t 




not 




re wc 




we 




t • 




e. 


The 


evil 
n at' 

in « 


will 








un«l 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 153 

perfect white, springing from white fathers, answer the 
question. Slavery has no just foundation in color ; it 
rests exclusively uj^on usurpation, tyranny, oppressive 
fraud, and force. These were its parents in every age 
and country of the world. 

The Senator says, the next or greatest difficulty to 
emancipation is, the amount of property it would take 
from the owners. All ideas of right and wrong are con- 
founded in these words : emancipate property. Emanci- 
pate a horse, or an ox, would not only be an unmeaning, 
but a ludicrous expression. To emancipate, is to set free 
from slavery. To emancijDate, is to set free a man, not 
property. The Senator estimates the number of slaves — 
men now held in bondage — at three millions, in the 
United States. Is this statement made here by the same 
voice which was heard in this Capitol in favor of the 
liberties of Greece, and for the emancipation of our South 
American brethren from political thraldom ? It is ; and 
has all its fervor in favor of liberty been exhausted upon 
foreign countries, so as not to leave a single whisper in 
favor of three millions of men in our own country, now 
groaning under the most galling oppression the world 
ever saw? Xo, Sir. Sordid interest rules the hour. Men 
are made property, and paper is made money; and the 
Senator, no doubt, sees in these two peculiar institutions 
a power which, if united, will be able to accomplish all 
his wishes. He informs us that some have computed the 
slaves to be worth the average amount of five hundred 
dollars each. lie will estimate within bounds, at four 
hundred dollars each ; making the amount twelve hun- 
dred millions worth of slave property. I heard this 
statement, Mr. President, with emotions of the deepest 
feeling. 

By what rule of political or commercial arithmetic does 
the Senator calculate the amount of property in human 
beings ? Can it be fancy or fact, that I Iiear such calcu- 



154 LIFl or BE.XATOa M o R R I S . 

lation,thftt the people of the V -' '^ t^'c-lve 

hundred millions »*» » • '" 

the world) worth ol' human !'. 

owned, the gentleman ii 

formiutr part of all our • 

and in Knropo. In! ««^ »»«v« 

been spared the hearirii.' "f '• 

efipecially from the h 

it emanated. But tli 

have twelve hundred u , vni the 

South; and can any man *o . h»< li 

here, &» not plainly to perovive thai the y : of lhi« rnU 
amount of pro|>erty at iho S '' U now oAiUDg .. i" 
to the hankini? power of the :^._iih, in oH- *- ■'■ \iri* 
the destinies of thJH country •* ^'" * :■ '- ...» of 

bankinij cajiital h to bo h " •n*' 

the slave power an<i ' ' to uuito in 

order to break down Ih- ' * • ^^ 

can be no mintake. aM I ti* ihti* Ui iue 

ariBtocraey of the North, who. i r ul a « ; t 

banking h . and the u: ' •«' 

power of the 8lav« r 

of others, are now atxnit to unjto in ortier to i •:.< 

reitjn of each perj i»t Ai 

can to be found, wlm will b 

Buch an unholy < . ? I«* ll •• 

mise to barter the libert' the » d 

aggrandiczment ? '• J{< to tvrantii iB • 

to God." 

The Senator further insists, "that what the law m,i 
property is property." This is the pn „ .i the gentle- 
man ; he has neither facts nor reason to prove it ; yet 
upon this alone does he rest the whole cane tliat iicffTom 

are property. 1 deny the predicate and th umcnt. 

Suppose the Legislature of the Senator's own .-^lan should 
pass a law declaring his wife, his children, his (riends, 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 155 

indeed, any white citizen of Kentuck}^, property^ and 
should they be sold and transferred as such, would the 
gentleman fold his arms and say, " Yes, they are property, 
for the lawMias made them such?" No, sir ; he would 
denounce such law w^itli more vehemence than he now 
denounces Abolitionists, and w^ould deny the authority of 
human Legislation to accomplish an object so clearly 
beyond its power. 

Human laws, I contend, can not make human beings 
property, if human force can do it. If it is competent for 
our legislatures to make a black man property, it is compe- 
tent for them to make a white man the same ; and the 
same objection exists to the poAver of the people in an 
organic law for their own government ; they can not make 
property of each other ; and, in the language of the 
Constitution of Indiana, such an act "can only originate 
in usurpation and tyranny." Dreadful, indeed, would be 
the condition of this country, if these principles should 
not only be carried into the ballot box, but into the Pres- 
idential chair. The idea that the Abolitionists ought to 
pay for the slaves if they are set free, and that they ought 
to think of this, is addressed to their fears, and not their 
judgment. There is no principle of morality or justice 
that should require them or our citizens generally to do 
so. To free a slave is to take from usurpation that which 
it has made property and given to another, and bestow it 
upon the rightful owner. It is not taking property from 
its true owner for public use. Men can do with their own 
as they please, to distroy their peace if they wish, but can 
not be compelled to do so. 

The gentleman repeats the assertion that has been 
repeated a thousand and one times : that Abolitionists are 
retarding the emancipation of the slave, and have thrown 
it back fifty or a hundred years ; that they have increased 
the rigors of slavery, and caused the master to treat his 



156 LIPI OP SENATOR MOBBlt. 

slave witli more »evcrity. n, i» to ces#e at 

some period; and Wcai; to 

the slaveholder. " Now is the : ^iitt 

he thinks ihi< an im|»rn|M»r in* the 

Abolitionists in his j ho r on 

his unotfondint? slave' Th.^ of ih?* Morv is. the 

slaveholder will exei ho is 

desired to show mercy. I do not envy th- ..itor the 

full benefit of his arj^umf-rt Tt isnn d.nV.t • true pirture 

of the f.-. '-' ■'M and prii. .^ .. - ry ene<»ijdcrs 

in the Imi I'L v>f the ma* - It is inp«. .<> i k«»'* •••■: with 
the threat we almc»«t <ajiiV h^-- **'at if pel.* -- do 
not ceaf»e their efforts in the i«a of their < lu- 

tional rii;hts, othrv- ill di- ih© '*' t, i ;.-.•. 

however, oupht to laii* : 

throats. 

The Senator telN us that t 
the fnodoin of slaven, wmiiii 1k' to r« "f 

the white lal)orer. II* 1. with u- 

data nor fact upon v. can rest. Ho, 

however, would draw a hnc. on one side of which he 
would place the slave lalx.r. and on tho other side fre« 
white labor ; and 1 . n* » general 

system, l>t)ih would aj»i"nr «^»n \ I hare 

observed, for some y« m slave- 

holder has insisto*! that his i . .-, in p<»int of intejr. 

rity. morality, usefulnesf*, and c .... .rt, 'r,nn\ to the labur 

ing population of the North. Thus ei . .»-■•.' to rai^o 

the slave in public estimation, to an cquu..w^> with li»o 
free white laborer of the North ; while, on the other 
hand, the Northern aristocrat has, via: hj comparison, 
endeavored to reduce his laborers to the moral and |K>lit- 
ical condition of the slaves of the South. It is for the free 
white American citizens to determine whether they will 
permit such degrading comparisons longer to exist. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 157 

Already has this spirit broken forth in denunciation of 
the right of universal suffrage. Will free white laboring 
citizens take warning before it is too late? 

The last, the great, the crying sin of Abolitionists, in 
the eyes of the Senator, is that they are opposed to colon- 
ization, and in favor of amalgamation. It is not necessary 
now to enter into any of the benefits and advantages of 
colonization ; the Senator has pronounced it the noblest 
scheme ever devised by man ; he says it is powerful but 
harmless. I have no knowledge of any resulting benefits 
from the scheme to either race. I have not a doubt as to 
the real object intended by i4s founders; it did not arise 
from princij^les of humanity and benevolence toward the 
colored race, but a desire to remove the free of that race 
beyond the United States, in order to perpetuate and 
make slavery more secure. 

The Senator further makes the broad charge that Abol- 
itionists wish to enforce the unnatural system of amalga- 
mation. We deny the fact, and call on the Senator for 
proof. The citizens of the free States, the petitioners 
against slavery, the Abolitionists of the free States, in 
favor of amalgamation ! No Sir ! If you want evidence 
of the fact, and reasoning in support of amalgamation, 
you must look into the slave States ; it is there it spreads 
and flourishes from slave mothers, and presents all possi- 
ble colors and complexions, from the jet black African to 
the scarcely to be distinguished white person. Does any 
one need proof of this fact? let him take but a few turns 
through the streets of your capital, and observe those 
whom he shall meet, and he will be perfectly satisfied. 
Amalgamation, indeed ! The charge is made with a very 
bad grace on the present occasion. No, sir ; it is not the 
negro woman^ it is the slave and the contaminating influ- 
ence of slavery that is the mother of amalgamation. 
Does the gentleman want facts on this subject ? let him 
look at the colored race in the free States; it is a rare 



158 LIFE Of SENATOR MORRIS. 

occurrence there. A colony ot or fuor 

huiulred, were i or i «, 

in the coinity of Bnnvn. a few i r- 

iner r* "e in ' »n«l I ^^ 

near them, u country . '^ 

when converhing with h that 

ho knew of but one ii '»K 

bom am"'' tV.fin for the lost fiO'tn .i-a; and I 

venture li.. ../'"»• ^""1 ihia aa:.. - ny bo*n MtUed 

in a slave State, t "'" '* '''"•• ^ ' '^ wou'^ hnve b««n 

far more numerous. I i- ^ -..i -a the v. ^ of Dr. 

Channing, it is a slave c<»unt •♦ -....i ^ with liccn- 

tiousnt-ts of this kind, and for | i-* Xh'- -v'Tiiona 

of Ju'lu''' H:i!{" r, of North Car .'iuia, iix bit lic. jf 

Bouthorn hluvcrv. 

The Sonat«)r, a** if ft that ' 

too broa<l. and miirht i.-ui lu prool t lo 

stop nhort, and ni •f 

amaliramalion to " H »f 

the kind ai^ain 
be;;in it with the 

Senator correctly, that ' iT 

the white and iIk* l»la< k hi 
tills result. Sir, I i . I d» 

should be made nt the . 

which tills the >^round : and in *f 

their Maker, eat their bnnd in the - of their face- 

that class, of whom Mr. Ji n «:nv« if God has a choncn 

people on earth, they are i.. thas Ub*»r. This 

charge is calculated for effect, to induce the laboring claas 
to believe, that if emancipation takes place, they will be, 
in the free States, reduced to the same condition as the 
colored laborer. The reverse of that is the truth of th« 
case. It is the slaveholder sow, he who lo^>ks upon labor 
as only tit for a servile race, it is him and his kindrod 
spirits who live upon the labor of o' to 



LIFE OF SENATOR :\10RRIS. 159 

reduce the white hiborer to the condition of the slave. 
They do not yet claim him as property, but they would 
exclude him from all participation in the public affairs of 
the country. It is further said, that if the negroes were 
free, the black would rival the white laborer in the free 
States. I can not believe it while so many facts exist to 
to prove the contrary. IN'egroes, like the white race, 
but with stronger feelings, are attached to the place of 
their birth, and the home of their youth ; and the climate 
of the South is congenial to their natures, more than that 
of the North. If emancipation should take place at the 
South and the negroes be freed from the fear of being made 
merchandize, they would remove from the free States of the 
North and West, and immediately return to that country, 
because it is the home of their friends and fathers. 
Already in Ohio, as far as my knowledge extends, has 
free w^hite labor, (emigrants,) from foreign countries, 
engrossed almost entirely all situations in which male or 
female labor is found. But, Sir, this plea of necessity and 
convenience is the plea of tyrants. Has not the free 
black person the same right tothe nse of his hands as the 
white person ; the same right to contract and labor for 
what price he pleases ? Would the gentleman extend the 
power of the government to the regulation of the pro- 
ductive industry of the countr}^ ? This was his former 
theory, but put down effectually by the public voice. 
Taking advantage of the prejudice against labor, the 
attempt is now being made to begin this same system, by 
first operating on the poor black laborer. For shame ! 
let us cease from attempts of this kind. 

The Senator informs us that the question was asked 
fifty years ago that is now asked, can the negro be con- 
tinued forever in bondage? Yes; and it will continue to 
be asked, in still louder and louder tones. But, says the 
Senator, we are yet a prosperous and happy nation. 
Pray, Sir, in what part of your country do you find this 



IGO LIFE or BIHATOR MORRIS. 

prosperity and happines««? In the St*tc*? No! 
no! There all is wcakno«*v l t. while in 
the free States, all i« liirht. hi » \\ hat 
has created the n ' ^^<* ^'*'"* 
tleman's State an«l mine- , '^ 
Slavery, the \^ntherinff cunw of - r. »• »ii^t» Ken- 
tucky, while Ohio i« free. Ken ' of the 

* ft 

West, almost the land of pn :.. -, ' i the 

natural advantap*«, and more than . i by Ohio — 

is vastly behind in population and w». ....... Sir, I can »•• 

from the windows of my i • ■ - chamber, in the city of 
Cincinnati, land?* in KrntucKv, which. I am told, can be pur- 
chased from ten to fifty •' while lands of lh« 
same quality, undrr t" 1 the a«m« 
distance from me in • »*^il from OD« 
to five hundfi-.l .l..llar-< ; • 1 \*a- I'll by a friend, 
a few d.ivs before I lelt home, who had formerly d 
in the county of B<»url>on. I. v — m moat e> ut 

m 

county of laii'N a bich 

«r 

the Senator n n of that 

county was more than f"nr ' n it wan five 

years .siiue. Will the > iC* 

of these facts, tliat hlavery in this c*'!n!rv has been the 
cause of uur prosperity and happim- . ho can not. 

It is because slavery has been excluded and driven Irum 
a larire projKirlion of our country, that we are a prosper- 
ous and happy people. But its late attempts to force 
its influence and power into the free .*^latci». and deprive 
our citizens of their unqnestionable rights, lima l>een the 
moving cause of all the riots, burninps. and murders that 
have taken place on account of Abr>liiioni' and it has, 
in some degree, even in the free States. cavis*Hl mourning, 
lamentation and woe. Remove slavery, and the country, 
the whole country, will recover its natural vigor, and our 
peace and future prosperity will be ]>laced on a more 
extensive, safe, and sure foundation. It is a >% nt^ic of lime 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 161 

to answer the allegations that the emancipation of the 
negro race would induce them to make war on the white 
race. Every fiict in the history of emancipation proves 
the reverse : and he that will not believe those focts, has 
darkened his own understanding, that the light of reason 
can make no impression ; he appeals to interest, not to 
truth, for information on this subject. We do not fear 
his errors, while we are left free to combat them. The 
Senator implores us to cease all commotion on this sub- 
ject. Are we to surrender all our rights and privileges, 
all the official stations of the country into the hands of 
the slaveholding power, without a single struggle? Are 
we to cease all exertions for our own safety, and submit 
in quiet to the rule of this power ? Is the calm of despot- 
ism to reign over this land, and the voice of freedom to 
be no more heard? This sacrifice is required of us, in 
order to sustain slavery. Freemen^ will you make it? 
Will you shut your ears and your s^^mpathies, and with- 
hold from the poor, famished slave, a morsel of bread ? 
Can you thus act, and expect the blessings of Heaven upon 
your country ? I beseech you to consider for yourselves. 
Mr. President — I have been compelled to enter into 
this discussion from the course pursued by the Senate ou 
the resolutions I submitted a few days since. The cry of 
Abolitionist has been raised against me. If those resolu- 
tions are Abolitionism, then I am an Abolitionist from the 
sole of my foot to the crown of my head. If to maintain 
the rights of the States, the security of the citizen from 
violence and outrage ; if to preserve the supremacy of 
the laws ; if insisting on the right of petition, a medium 
through which every person subject to the laws has an 
undoubted right to approach the Constitutional authori- 
ties of the country — be the doctrines of Abolitionists, it 
finds a response in every beating pulse of my veins. 
Neither power, nor favor, nor want, nor misery, shall 
14 



162 LIFK OP gEHATOR MORRI^ 

deter me from it*; cnrirnrt x\Vii!i» thr ritnl rnrTt»nt crsj\. 
tinues to flow. 

Condemned at home for my '^"■- -v alone 

and sinple lianded here, well i ^ » . .^ui emo- 

tion in beardini' this lion of ^.a>< tv in hi- \cr\* dm and 
uj>on his own ^Tonnd. I tthould nhrinV - • »* , 

til is fearful an«l in ' * ' 

convintH'd that I aru - U.v j ol li : 

the best ini' of the • 

I listened i«> iho ^ .• I 

attention I was i r 

ha<l heard of the I in «•* 

and agreements on this rtiK»r. a m prin- 

ciple to all 8ueh pi ,i». 

thin*^ iij)on whi<h w. 

be restored to th« j ^11 

future iii:'^i' thr • 'tB 

be prevented. N _^ . .: .. n- 

ditional sub: n to , h; ind not politicAl 

alone, but absolute liea/h. W'v havo f.nt.t. .t tt... #>r.«i {q 
this matter, and are detcrmir. ^ to |,..^ .,. .,.. 

Let the slaveholder huijh;- .- • > hin i.— m iu am 

own State, we will not po there to u Murh him ; hot. Sir, 
within our own bortlen* we elaim • the name prir- 

ileges. Even, Sir, here in thin li.Mrici. thU ten milea 
square of common property and c the alave 

power has the assurance to come inlo Unt, wrv Hall and 
request that we— yes, Mr. Pr- ' ,». 

ents — be denied the riirht of ; ,n on the - i of 

slavery in this District. This most e 'i. 

tion a.-ainst the ri^rht of others to y „ on the same 

subject as theirs, is gra a,,,i . ,j j^ b« 

printed. pa\ins sunt; to it by ihe slave : the 

petitions I otfer, from as ho'n : and 

patriotic American citizens as any in this District, are 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 163 

spit upon, and turned out of doors as an vnc lean thing / 
Genius of liberty ! how long will you sleep under this 
iron power of oppression ? iS'ot content with ruling over 
their own slaves, they claim the power to instruct Con- 
gress on the question of receiving petitions ; and yet we 
are tauntinglj^ and sneeringly told that wo have nothing 
to do with the existence of slavery in the country, a sug- 
gestion as absurd as it is ridiculous. We are called upon 
to make laws in favor of slavery in the District, but it is 
denied that we can make laws against it ; and at last the 
right of petition on the subject, by the 2)eople of the free 
States, is complained of as an imj^roj^er interference. I 
leave it to the Senator to reconcile all these difficulties, 
absurdities, claims and requests of the people of this Dis- 
trict, to the country at large ; and I venture the opinion 
that he will find as much difficulty in producing the belief 
that he is correct now, as he has found, in obtaining the 
same belief, that he was before correct, in his views and 
political course on the subject of banks, internal improve- 
ments, protective tariff, etc., and the regulation, by acts 
)f Congress, of the productive industry of the country, 
cogether with all compromises and coalitions he has 
entered into for the attainment of those objects. I rejoice, 
iiowever, that the Senator has made the display he has 
dn this occasion. It is a powerful shake to awaken the 
sleeping energies of liberty, and his voice, like a trum- 
pet, will call from their slumbers, millions of freemen, to 
defend their rights ; and the overthrow of his theory 
now, is as sure and certain, by the force of public opinion, 
as was the overthrow of all his former schemes, by the 
same mighty power. 

I feel, Mr. President, as if I had wearied your patience, 
while I am sure my own bodily powers admonish me to 
close; but I can not do so, without again reminding my 
constituents of the greetings that have taken place on the 
consummation and ratification of the treaty, offensive and 



H;4 LIFK t*r HEN A TOR MoRRI> 

defensive, between the »lav. and bank powera, in 

order to carry on a war :. i the of our coun- 

try, and to put down the \ i ^ f«. 

there is no voiee henr! rr.«n» N ^ Hohion 

and Faneuil Hall ar- hi 

is, in prospect. reduco«l to the v il, il' i ral. i 

tion of the slave; an ideal 1:. to divide them in ih. : 
labor ; yes ! the same principle in to '''•vrm on boili aides. 
Even the farmer, too, will »oon l>e b I into the »ame 

fold. It will be attain said, with r. to the ffovern 

ment of the countrj', "The farmer « **- ^ t-^^vm 

ui)on the statute ' ' ' * ^n he ' i i»u> i- t uui^- 

vored to warn my Kii.»w ui the prenont and 

n]»proaehinir r, but XUv tiaik cloud of nlmvery i« 

before their evrs. an<l pi * •<**- 

inir the condition of tl ' 

the cloud of sununer. will fM>on paM mway. and itm thun- 
ders ( tase to be heard. " ic to an end. and 
the sunshine of pr warm, in ite and bleta 
our whole countrv. 

I do not know, Mr Vr it, that mv voice will #ver 

again be heard on this fl. ; 1 ; 'v. yea. t 

return to my eonstituent<», to th*- , , own 

1 have spent my life among them, an I tho nrratrr porti«»n 
of it in their service, and they hav^ ... .wed a|K>n me 
their contidence in numerous in»»» ••"—««. I feel perfectly 
conscious that, in the discharge «m ^ >.'ry trust which they 
have committed to me. I have, to the beat of my abilities, 
acted solely with a view t^» theijenerat ! not suffering 

myself to be influeneed by any pariuulur or private 
interest whatever ; and I now chal' who think 

I have done otherwise, to lay their hn^rr u|H.n any pub- 
lic act of mine, and prove to the countrk' it* 
anti-republican tendency. That I have often erre<l in iho 
selection of means to accomplish important ends, I have 
no doubt; but my belief in the truth of the duetrinea of 



LIFE OF SENATUR il ORRIS. 165 

the Declaration of Inclependoncc, the political creed of 
President Jefferson, remains unshaken and unsubdued. 
My greatest regret is that I have not been more zealous, 
and done more for the cause of individual and political 
liberty than I have done. I hope, on returning to my 
home and my friends, to join them again in rekindlin^^ 
the beacon-fires of liberty upon every hill in oiyi S4^^^^ 
until their broad glare shall enlighten every vaire;y\ and f 
the song of triumph will soon be heard ; for the hearts of 
our people are in the hands of a just and holy Being, 
(who can not look upon oppression but with abhorrence), 
and he can turn them whithersoever he will, as the rivers 
of water are turned. Though our national sins are many 
and grievous, yet repentance, like that of ancient Nine- 
veh, may divert from us that impending danger which 
seems to hang over our heads as by a single hair. That 
all may be safe, I conclude that the negro will yet be 
SET FEEE. 

This noble Speech startled the Senate, and produced a ^ 
marked sensation throughout the country. A Southern 
Senator arose, and said, Mr. Morris deserved expulsion 
from the Senate, that his presence there was contami- 
nation ; and he soiled the very carpet on which he stood. 
The Legislature of Virginia, suggested that Ohio's Senator 
be expelled. 

The friends of freedom, however, hailed the speech with 
delight. Numerous Conventions passed resolutions, com- 
mending his Eoman integrity and firmness. He received 
numerous letters, saying : " Your very able and timely 
speech, in reply to Mr. Clay, will be remembered with 
gratitude by millions till the end of time." " You are 
regarded as the chief defender of the liberty of speech, 
of the right of petition, and freedom of debate, among 
all the Senators who compose that august Body." 

" We beg the reader," said a paper, <' will not throw 




160 MFE Ok' SFNATOn M 

down this splendid speech u? •» it U a 1 

one. Read it attentively, and then mv what parairrmph 
miirht liave l>een omitted. Wo h»vo r«*n«l it thr«c 
with pnjfit and pleasure. It *»; !! bi 

a rocapitnhition of all tlio nrL- • ^1 y'aci.. 

bratod speeeh in favor of el.. ! fxp<>»e 

*i<»lc hud^et of fine-»pun i rward 

entuckv slaveholder. 3f^ ^^ . . ..- i have 

chosen a better topic for a val'- ! on tiio ©ve 

of his retirement from the S- a^e Ibr y©«ri 

held tins man in high ^ ^1 ii:^ p: *. of !>• 

racy amoiint.s t" - ' ' iio 

has no need to ativciii.'^o li. *A L 

BO far. at h-ant, a* « . i»l 1. 

riijhts. The old j m the n of ll 

art, wore wont to u: lAti i- a 

horte " - t is a /i ^' lie 

stands conr the 1: 

• When Mr. .^I"rri•^ a wan 

small, as 3Ir. Wi Kst^r had 

ionablo to hear his . • 

in another wing of tho • ^ but 1 ; - . i 

proceeded far, the tide set ih ..lOr ^nv. And noon M» 
had the Soiiatc-rh.Tmhor rrowdd ♦'^ ♦" ^'i- '^'»bld 

speech ! 

Almost all the Senators who parti' ■•^"*-' 'n thai ui.-ui«i- 
rable debate are dead. Calhoun lua in ni» own grave- 
yard, in the State which he lov ' . pa».- ' and to 
whose interests, his I 1 aiui i. .ccl and 
energies were dovotea. 1 h.- ir wh«>*o 
massive mind, and rii h intollectuut ro^.uror^ are the glory 
of his country, rests in his home farm, in Mar*. 
Massachusetts. His name h -o ol im 
former power and glory, because, nn several o. 
declined to defend, by his eminent ab . the - of 
freedom. Clay, the idol of his partv. and ever j al 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 167 

in the politics and civil councils of his country, was borne 
in a funeral pageant, from the Capital of the ligation, 
where he died, to the shades of Ashland, Kentucky, 
where he sleeps in death. A son of Kentucky, himself 
an ardent admirer of Mr. Clay, says : " Strong consider- 
ations would restrain me from undervaluing his woi^^^ 
but some of the measures he originated and pursued vn^^^ 
ceasless toil, are cast aside as obselete ideas, his party is 
disbanded, the talismanic charm of his name is power- 
less, and it will remain for future ages to decide how great 
and enduring his influence shall be." 

Morris also is dead. He rests in the free soil of Ohio, 
(buried in a spot of ground consecrated to freedom by a 
special Act,) a State, of which it was a passion of his 
nature to love, and to "whose welfare he devoted the ener- 
gies of a long life ; closing his last official eftbrts for Ohio 
and his country, by this speech in the Senate of the 
United States ; but the great principles enunciated, and 
so fearlessly maintained in it, still live and will live 
forever. 

*• Truth crushed to earth, will rise again, 
The eternal years of God are hers 
While error writhing in her pains, 
Shall die amid her worshipers." 



168 LITZ OF 8EMAT0R MOEBIi 




fHAI'TKK XIV. 

Varioui Rewlutions ov ^rtrj- g-OptB.cm of 

a S..uthern Sen*ior-A **•- ^-i ^^''^ Pro^crlj^ 

tions of Anti-SUrcrr r». 

The vigilant waU ' ' rrt«. in rt: 

to the spirit and nt-t-: i of o tv.w<»r 

developed in his ci; ' 

the United State», on il« jfrowinj( prclenv >n^ and jKiwcr. 
It demanded not only security mud pr n fVt»m tho 

Government, within it« own limita, hot al*- .-r.mplote 
exeinptinn from d' n in and out of C - nor 

would il permit any cj^aiuination of lh« «• ••i •■! -...very. 
The pronlavory sentiment. f»o ontir- ' * miij'hanl in Coo* 
grefis, was m," d to a new d- ' in the S<»nata, 

through the vigiiunt cfforla of Mr. Mom*. On the 5th 
of Fehruarv. 18:19. he * r the "f the 

Senate, the following resolutions : 

WuF.UKAS. the right ami pr e of p- i» an 

exist in£j prin<ij>le, tsta' 1 by the laws of nature, and 

is desiirned to be exe; . not for »nor reHl>»tanc« 

but to obtain relief or favor ; and this right, when tho 
people peaceably exerri»io it. is j i by the C u- 

tion of the United Stat the jKfWer of ;ilivo 

bodies, who can not rightfully control tho time, or tho 
manner, or the matter, in or for which, the people hhall 
petition. And. whereas, recent events in CongroM. on 
this important subject, render it doubtful, how far that 
body consider tho people justifiable, in the exercise of 
this right, especially on the subject of slaverj*. the slave 
trade, and the abolition of slavery ; and since, upon all 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 169 

subjects, on which legislative bodies may Constitutionally 
act, it seems clear that every intelligent being, who is 
subject to this action, ought to enjoy the right of petition 
to the fullest extent. 

Resolved^ therefore, That as the peoj^le of the United 
States, or certain portions of them, claim to have an 
undeniable right to petition Congress to abolish slavery in 
the District of Columbia, to suppress the slave trade 
therein, and between the different States and Territories 
of the United States ; or between any of the States and 
the Eej)ublic of Texas ; and against the admission of any 
new State into the Union whose Coustitution permits or 
tolerates slavery ; in as full, free and ample manner, as 
they can exercise this right on any other subject ; it is 
therefore expedient, that all petitions, on the aforesaid 
subjects, or any of them, be referred to the Committee on 
the Judiciary, which committee is instructed to inquire 
into and report to the Senate, their opinion on the follow- 
ing points : 

Firsts Whether the people of the United States, or any 
portion of them, have an indisputable right to petition 
Congress on the subjects, or any of them, mentioned in 
the foregoing resolution. 

Second, Whether Congress, possess the power to abolish 
slavery in the District of Columbia. 

Tliird, AYhether Congress possess the jjower to pro- 
hibit slavery in the Territories of the United States. 

Fourth, Whether Congress have power to create, intro- 
duce, or establish slavery, in any territory acquired by 
the United States, in which slavery did not exitst at tlie 
time the United States became possessed thereof. 

Fifth, AYhether Congress have the power and ought to 
restrain or abridge any Constitutional right of the citi- 
zens, because the exercise of such right may tend, by 
calling in question the justice and policy of slavery, to 
weaken or abolish that system in any of the States. 
15 



170 LIFE or ^r. NATOB JIt'Kui*. 

Surth, Whether <'•■'— -^ •" nnv msr mn rit'-.rr 'i f 

or indirectly <' -ui'. .... '•' ^n« 

freedom of t lie ijrc?^. or «-'i "•* * ■■— '• 

Seventh, Whether (' " ' ' ^ • '«• 
^^o safety and ] '» ui j •! the 
CJt z : - of one .^ >n vi* anu mjiu \ - done 
such citi/Aii?< or tl»cir '' --laic, and 
also to protect the ci" ul . ' '' k 
proper, within thtir own .^ »»»d 
publish their < ihc ..or 
reli^nous institi: »nd pun- 
ishment in the State v mJ, 
writing, jirintinjf and ] t. 

IJij/ifh, \\ »t 
shall or phull nnt i 

.\7;.//i, Whrlhrr ' - tO • lh« 

Bale of slaves n* TT^^H^rfv. to •* • t in 

favor of the ('» 

Tnith, Whether a removal "^f the ^at ucnt 

into a State in which f*lav»'r^ not b« 

expedient, consistent with «T-id r.r • thw 

quiet, safety, and intere,««t • . 

Resohrd, J'urthrr, That an < ii..- -"i w,*r 

the persons of slaves an pr -— the 

subject of slavery therein, a n n • i mc i-'islrioi 

of Columbia to the Sr • f Vir I Mark land onj(ht 

to bo made, to prevent, or take ; iiie • Mf^uch 

power in the Pi'-trict. 

Rf'solifd, Jurthrr, That il b« iv to the 

States in this Union, to provide that a p- u ho may be 

held to service or labor in one nder the laws 

thereof, and who shall - into an II be 

delivered up by such SuiU) to the , lo whom sach 

service or labor may be due ; and that the s a« 

parlies to the compact of Union, are in taith Ujund 

to make such provision. 



LIFE OB^ SENATOR MORRIS. 171 

Resolved, That Congress have not the power to author- 
ize or permit a person to take into, or to hold, as j^roperty, 
in any State, that which the Constitution and laws of such 
State declare shall not be held as property therein ; hut 
the citizens of each State ought to be protected in the 
several States, in the enjoyment of all privileges and 
immunities that citizens of the State are entitled to, and 
none other. 

Resolved, That it would be expedient and proper for 
Congress to ascertain the number of slaves in the District 
of Columbia, the extent of the slave trade carried on 
therein, and from the District ; whether such slaves are 
purchased in the District, or bought within the same from 
the States, for exportation, and how many have been taken 
from the District within the last two years, for sale, and 
to what market they were taken, whether within or 
without the United States. 

A year previous to the introduction of the foregoing 
resolutions, on the 19th of February, 1838, Mr. Morris 
offered the following : 

Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be 
instructed to inquire, whether the present laws of the 
United States, on the subject of the slave trade, will 
prohibit that trade being carried on between the citizens 
of the United States and the citizens of the Eepublic of 
Texas, whether by land or sea; and whether it would bo 
lawful in vessels owned by citizens of that Eepublic, and 
not lawful in vessels owned by citizens of this, or lawful 
in both, and by citizens of both countries ; and also, 
whether a slave carried from the United States, into a 
foreign country, and brought back or returning into the 
United States, is considered a free person, or is liable to 
be sent back, if demanded, as a slave into that country 
from which he or she in the past came ; and also, whether 
any additional legislation by Congress is necessary on 
any of these subjects. 



172 IIFK or glKATCiR MORRI*. 

When read, a Southern ^ Ir. K- ^ 

his Burpriso. that tlie " "- <»>' aii 

instantaneous - » to i h r«io- 

lutions. 

A Senator from New Il:i Mr Jl 1. ^aid, 

■' it was a matter of • to h " al<no. 

These ' .the 

publie press ; and n hiu* 

reeeived the most ur *, 

yet he was fne t that he ni r;.! 

with his friend. -Mr. M'-rri* «n . l 

by liim, in thef*e n ■ lh«l a 

larire majority of the < '-nd (he had 

rLa>on to believe.) wer© pr**; T* p». hini in 

the eourse he had pun*ue<i on thN «r 

Mr. Buehanan hai<l. •• He ••;. •.,»ri;t.*t the prop- 

osilion to lay ujwn the ♦■''■• Vr-..,,. „,, .,,,-..<, qu 

the subject oft' \ • ^- 1 no 

person wonhl b mm ui n^ lu uitm, or to 

their objects. Lui lair play i> a 1 h« thought 

the Senator fmm Ohi«>. (Mr V i aright to be 

heard, a!id in rej>ly to the n • :o in the 

Senate on this 

Mr. llu) il<anl ^; ■ ^ no want of "fair 

play ! Tlic S«'nator fn»m ' is not 

preehnled from his ?» the I of 

slavery. This riirhl he ha.^. thi» prr he now . §, 

if he chooses to exerci.He it. Xo r : the ^ Id 

prevent him from i of slaver}' 

at any time. 

Mr. Morris said : " IK- tVlt verv mtieh . ^ d m the Sen- 
ator from New JIamp-hire f«.r t- Tnialion, that h^ had 
the xame right ns any other Senator to rxjtrm kU njnnifmt on nub- 
jeets brought before the Senate. He jiupv-.-d he ought 
to tender his profound thanks for/Aw^ir j.ririlr^." 

The resolutions w.ro nfiitrri to be entertained or prv 'H. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 173 

Mr. Morris, by liis fearless defense of freedom, and bold 
denunciations of Slavery, did not lose political or social 
caste among his co-Senators. At each session of Congress 
he served on im2:»ortant Committees, such as the Judiciary 
and Agricultural, and was Chairman of the Committee 
on Pensions. Southern Senators, treated him with the 
urbanity of gentlemen, and admitted his honesty and 
admired his fearlessness. A Senator from Geor<xia, 
remarked to him, that if it was known who he was, he 
might travel with safety through his State, though holding 
and proclaiming the sentiments he then did on the subject 
of slavery. 

A change has come over the spirit and action of the 
slave Power. IS'ow, its imperious authority, disregard- 
ing the rules of Parliamentary right and justice, declares 
certain Senators, eminent for talents and patriotism, " to 
belong to an unhealthy political organization," and for- 
bids them a place on Senatorial Committees. Seward 
from JSTew York ; Chase and Wade, from Ohio ; Sumner 
and Wilson, from Massachusetts ; Hale, from ^ew Hamp- 
shire ; Collamer, from Yermont ; Trumbell, from Illinois; 
Durkee, from Wisconsin, and others; statesmen of emi- 
nent abilities, and of exalted patriotism and purity in 
public and private character and life, have been proscribed 
by a pro-slavery Senate from their Constitutional privi- 
leges, and from the social urbanities of i^ro-slavcr}^ Sena- 
tors. Persecution, for righteousness, and for freedom's 
sake, is no novelty in the history of the world. The days 
of the martyrs are not ended. Let the freemen of the 
nation embalm these, and other champions of freedom in 
grateful and perpetual remembrance. 

•' In Freedom's field advancing their firm feet 
They plant them on the line that Justice draws, 
And -will prevail or perish in her cause ! " 



171 LIFE OF SENATOR MOBRIt 



niAPTKR W. 

Alliasce of Pe- l^r In • r"«l 



party 



' (^ - -:q. 



nati, oa ' 't 

from A " r 

mont 1. . „ . 

Ardent, nnd :it, in ^ " :» lo ihe ; <«• 

of true I). . it ^^ \r to 

Mr. .M<>rn«*. lo 8ee the : 1 iO 

long actoti, \ ol' thnr noble 

prill . to the corru; « of 

slavery. Ham i aII 

that is true in j nX nnd 

adapted, in their v© 

freedom and e. ^n to m^-n nrv! t. . . y 

or apostacy, from theHe n« irks o: :i hv a 

great and dominant pariv U always a ffr<*mt li.. aI 
calamity. "A nation can ...... r no jfrcn*- »• < >' .Trity than 

the loss of its principles. Lofly and i.... ncnt U 

the life and hope of a ] ' ' " T^ or dti.i.jn from 

the vital principles of IV -'on. and haman- 

ity, betokens theapproucn ui i.uucjiiUi luiu. As tho sturdy 
oak when girdled must die, so t that denoance 

the principles of Christian recijiu*le, uuU of true demo- 
cracy, must tend to .! and <: Ifth© 
foundations be d. >„ is ihi-ru that the 
stately temple of Irccdum can »iaud. 

A great party, then, who re; .t tho btau ideal of 

Democracy, wh«j.se doctrines have a natural charm for the 
popular ear and popular heart, and which controls the 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 175 

masses, and so forms the resistless current of political 
public sentiment, and directs political policy and action, 
should guard with watchful vigilance, the integrity and 
purity of its princij^les. Every interest and motive, 
that clusters around patriotism and national honor, and 
safety, and the hope of the final freedom of the world, 
from bondage — demands of a great party, whose creed is 
truly Democratic, to be firm and loyal in their unfaltering 
fidelity to its fundamental principles. 

It was the development of unhealthy symptoms, in 
regard to the disposition of the Democratic party of the 
country, to yield to the usurpations and dictations of the 
slave power, that went like iron, to the free heart of 
Thomas Morris. With great grief he heard the leaders 
of the party declare, that " Democracy was the natural 
ally of the South, and of slavery ; " and that the surest, 
reliable strength of the institution of slavery, was found 
in the Democratic party of the free States. Both of the 
two great parties of the country. Democratic and Whig, 
had succumbed, in humble subserviency to the aggressions 
of slavery ; but to the Democratic party, with all its noble 
principles and professions, belongs the humiliation of 
yielding most to the demands of the slave power, and 
opening new and wide fields for the tread of the 
oppressor. 

This policy had a development during the Senatorial 
term of Mr. Morris. He, as a true Democrat, could 
not, and did not, yield to its influence. Though it 
cost him the loss of j^ower, and banishment from his party, 
yet he stood firm in resisting opj^ression, and in defense 
of the true doctrines of Democracy. The following letter 
was written, in the midst of his earnest conflicts with 
slavery, in the Senate ; and addressed to a Democratic 
citizen of Cincinnati, who had forwarded to him, the pro- 
ceedings of a meeting of some of the Democracy, who 
approved his course as a Senator of Ohio. 



170 LIFE OF SENATOR MOEBIl. 

W\ rv lo. l" ' 

m 

Dear Sir — I 
ccediuirH ami r« oi' • 

J^cmocratic frioii ll:»;i, 

in tlie city of C'ii 
inectini^ was | 
ant! niv tnorii* in iL 
ohjcct of which is, c<lMnl 
tlic ^ iM'ii who • 

VoiirBolf, I'or tho kind lu. in v 

nw the procecdintjs, will be til i 

acknuwl.-.f-miontij an-' mv > 

The u]>^ ; ition .:iico«, with 

whom I liave prrsoi .> in I am iodt- 

viflually known. i:i an . "' "* '• * -"- 

than that which wc . ' •» mv 

hii^Iiest anihition, mxi i*< 

of iliitv. to ; rvc t! u ul mv li 

intheSta 

cratie j)rjii. 

liberty is ; wiicre I: \o, 

they are hmt. 

The time, the ]>lace. tho ii I 

received the \<: to 

make a <leej) ini|>r inn » ' I hv t)i«» 

T.iLTislature of my owr 

sentative of her 1). -on 

account (as I have b. of mv oi , lu 

slavery, and my . -c of \ • nf t ... fr<H«- 

dom of .speech and of the 1 .... .. -.f ii,., 

Post-Ollice to Abolitioni-t. :..?,. ..fi...^ . ^ .i,;.., 

consolatory to learn, I....; ,.., ^,^,^, •■-<• Mill 

Hustaiued and cherished, in hci imuary -i. not 

to be abandoned for any local or private ii. ever. 

Past experience has taught U8 that, wuvu nu ny and 
the CoustJtiitinnal rights of our citixens. or of any portion 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 177 

of them, have been stricken down, in Legislative Assem- 
blies, thej have found snj)port in the countiy, and are 
resuscitated and sustained by the people, as common 
rights and common blessings, which all ought to enjoy. 
This reflection ought to fill the heart of every friend to 
his country, and of the human race, with the most lively 
hope and unshaken confidence, that our Government rests 
upon the most safe foundation which human wisdom can 
devise ; and that the privileges and rights, which it has 
left free and unrestrained by the power of law, will remain 
perpetual with the people. The people^ and not poli- 
ticians, must he the guardians of freedom. 

Though contemned, I am not convinced, that, on the 
now agitated question of slavery, I am in error. Though 
trodden down, I am not discouraged ; because I am well 
satisfied that the American ^^eople will never consent that 
the records of the Declaration of Independence, and the 
provisions of their Constitutions, which declare that the 
natural rights of man are inalienable, shall be thrown 
aside, as mere waste parchment, and the words therein 
contained considered as mere rhetorical flourishes. jSTo ! 
this will never be done, to sustain slavery, or any other 
interest, which is at war with the "general welfare." The 
system of slavery is not only at war with such welfare, 
but with the most sacred rights of human nature. 

I deeply deplore, that that spirit of proscription for 
opinion's sake, which is sometimes exercised by power, 
for its own selfish puri:)Oses, is now stalking openly through 
our country^ with too little rebuke ; that it should find its 
way into the Halls of Legislation is still more alarming. The 
moral power of the country, the expression of public sen- 
timent, is the only weapon which can rightfully be used 
against these opinions. The power of the Government can 
justly punish for acts done, but not for opinions enter- 
tained; and "error of opinion may be safely tolerated, 
while reason is left free to combat it." The countenance 



178 MFK OF SENATOR MORRll. 

given bv men in -. of ) and Ir 

tions made, that upini 
be expresficd or proii 
sort, to eni^a^'o in nmbs. : 
fellow citizens. f«»r nr* ttthrr > 

of opinion. Suih i: val n our 

Government, a fata! "'ah niTn««d At the vitnl pr of 

our instiluliuji . 'Jr !• thov 

have caused the land to m^'T:rn i \ho 

dence of our citiren*, in .. ,« of j . a aud 

property, which the Govcni...v ... „..,. •« ««» t|,r..u- firrvr.,! 
them. 

To strike down an individaal b*' *^ - hand vi «••<>•%• 
a politician by the handi of p •> • para- 

tively, nothing; the waves of t» r the 

wroni^, and it is f< ' mav 

overtake the wn m- 

blies, the Kuli-rs ui iUv • 
which rest all our 
blow vibratos th iho 

feels its full force, as much as il . at h 

It rends the political 1. 
seldom closes. 

These rofloetions will ] 
that my opinums have Ikm-h »*«» arr ., 

that they seem to be un. ^ . . . ^ 

The decree of condemnation waa first pronounced 
against me in the newspapers of the slave Sutes. The 
power which can put a gag into the moatha of mombem 
of Congress; can prevent petitions > ■ - - ivcd in on© 
branch, and can lay them on the lauic wiUiuut further 
action thereon in the other, if on the • ' <t of slaver}*, 
is a power not to be over' ' I or ' I in ita 

operation on the free State.-,, if it aiv>uiucn to dictate, 
who shall represent the States in (' . • ! if such 

dictation is submitted to, the so-called free .•- .. - instead 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 179 

of being independent and governing themselves, will be 
governed by the slaves of the other States, acting through 
the medium of their masters ! 

Do not suppose I speak from any personal feeling on 
this subject. No! I speak my sober judgment upon facts, 
which almost daily transpire before the face of the whole 
country. "What are these facts ? 

The President, (Mr. YanBuren,) is claimed, by many, 
as a ISTorthern man w4th Southern principles and feelings. 
The Cabinet is composed of six members, three from slave 
States, and one who wrote a book in favor of Southern 
slavery. Two-thirds, then, of this branch of the Govern- 
ment, are in favor of slavery. The Supreme Court of the 
United States, is composed of nine Judges, five of whom 
are from slave States. The President of the Senate, (Yice 
President of the United States,) and Sj^eaker of the House 
of Representatives, are also from slave States ; the Secre- 
tary of the Senate is from this District, a slave country ; 
and the Clerk of the House from a slave State. 

We might reasonably suppose, that, with all this power 
and patronage of the General Government in their hands, 
the slave-holders ought to feel satisfied, without making 
any further demands, for security for their peculiar institu- 
tion, on the free States. But this is not so. They ask to 
abridge our Constitutional and undeniable rights, — the 
liberty of speech and the press, and the right of petition 
on the subject of slavery, — and so far as the General Gov- 
ernment has acted, they have obtained this also. Still 
they are not satisfied. Their march is onward. 

They enter the territories of the free States, seize upon 
the white as well as the black man, and convey him into 
their own States; sometimes under pretence of law, at 
others by mere personal force. They confine our citizens, 
who have not violated their laws, in their jails, load them 
with irons and fasten them with chains. But they do not 
stop here. 



180 



LIKE OF 6 EN ATOM JIO«mi« 



re«o1a- 
of I he fro« 



The Genernl A > in t: 

lutions, and Bond thim to the 1 
States, requiring such i o bo , 

necessar}* for the security and : 
proptrty. Still. like the ^mvc, 
be satisfied. Enou^'li ha* not be«n dntir 
])a])ers assume the pren-"^* '" e of • 
and who shall not be ei. .v. -; *" * 
Stati-s. 

Are wc di i to boi* lu ah^ pjMi:* vu 

dienco to thoc u- Wi If mad© by a f - 

universal burst «>i ' •« 

would answer, >iUi Sit\ I. 
tJK in. when made by sister 
us to upholil their " 
in A i.i--Mi.rTiox or the 
r. -'•IvfH sent into the 
power of the i\ 
But by the nioral rof 1 

opinion; by the BALLOT Bo.X. that 

SALVATION FOR THE ! OF OlR - 

agg i»8 of slavery by \\\**^* meana. 

Against the furtlur i . of thia n\%r^ jx^wer, 

winch I have but faintly <L T. aa a ^ r here, 

coming from a free State, have :intly -^ I, by 

my best exertions. I have cla<" ?>,.. i . ...,va an 

equality of otlicial station and ii.....« ... , , ... > .i.:" ♦'•u the 
atVairs of the General (tovernmon^ • * I am • .. i»iiy of 
the opinion, that they ought to ] ■ • ' M»cy, 

because they contain a majority oi txii ; T 

claim for my own State absolute r per- 

sons and things within her jii ' u, H*al iiciincr shall 

be abducted or carried away, \ViUiuut our nl, and in 

pursuance of our laws. I - 'lim, f^r my :•», 

the full enjoyment of their < tutional r ty 

of speech and of the press. an«l the of i n, 



i not 
• dhall, 

III vi/v- 

. pjwcr, A 

I a \»«w \- ffl 

/CrriM fkrm, NUT 

,- vo 



\su uucK or 
: the 



LIFE or SENATOR MORRIS. 181 

without the fear of mobs or personal violence. I claim 
for them the peaceable enjoyment of their iii-e-sides and 
their bed chambers, secure from the rude assaults of 
slave-hunters or slave-dealers. 

Who will stand by me in support of these claims, and 
bear the reproach of being an Abolitionist ? — A name 
now made unpopular by interest, misrepresentation, and 
the love of despotic power ; but one which Christianity 

APPROVES, PHILOSOPHY RESPECTS, AND POSTERITY WILL 

HONOR. A name, however, which has brought into notice 
a class of politicians, who, taking advantage of existing 
prejudices against the negro race, have made many 
believe, that Abolitionism is destructive to the best inter* 
ests of the country, and that an Abolitionist "to be 
hated needs but to be seen! " It is by this class I have 
been charged with being an Abolitionist, the High Priest 
of Abolitionism in Ohio. They have thus denied and 
rejected all the doctrines and opinions, I have advanced 
on this subject, and without meeting me b}* argument, 
have been able, by the aid of the slaveholding power, to 
strike me down in your presence. 

I have been with you in opposition to the power of 
concentrated wealth ; to Banks and systems that band 
together men in sustaining any particular or private 
object, by which they can operate on, and control the 
Legislation and government of the county. I have said 
to you, that immediately after the settlement of the Money 
question, there was one of far more importance which 
the people must decide — the question of equal rights and 
civil liberty, in opposition to which would be arrayed the 
whole force of the slaveholding power : An interest, which 
private, local, and arrogant in itf nature, has united together 
more persons for selfish purposes, and is more powerful 
and dangerous to the peace and prosperity of the coun- 
try, than Banks or any other interest, that has ever 
existed among us. 



182 LIFE (>r 8ENATOE MOBBlft. 

Is it for the trrh'rrr ami ; "f 1*"" '* ''^^^^ 

party in the Uniti . .. .e^, to b* • n 

their power? Can they drive fVom their .11. who 

have contcmlod ncrninMt it "» .J who oppoi«<» slavery, «nd 
Btill out-number their o'- * *»♦ t^-. r In short, 

will the Democracy of Uiii- ^..|j" .» •• •■♦'-laverjr, 

and disown nil who nf '^"r moral .i.iMi i power 

for it« extinction? 'i j.' ro jH^ve * ":t, 

whicli. T am sure. } 
before you join in »*ueh a 
able results of huch n t 
Been, and can j)ro! il it 

act. The jmwer of our ]• 
dcHjiised. Their : are *lili ; 

act. Takf (ar«^ tln-n. t 
** peculiar - 

I ^;:;r. ■- ■I.. I :.. 1 . ! . ■,•, ■ . ; 
rrsjiMii-il.ility under whi< h I hnvn >w>4*n ; 
then breath more fro<'lv arvl ♦! 
maintenance of prin^ 
connected with the p.. . ^ : 
our country. I feel under « 

Democratic fellow citiuenn ol i ... 

they have shown me, durinir the short ii. 

a resident of the city. 1 nhall retam wuo i\ nted 

resolution to aid them in su^tainin^ their indivmuut and 
political rii^hts. But Htiil on ait t -'.on 

the f'ulf, free utf of all i ' "9 

in our rouutrtf : or confine it y to nt linnU; 

and Avrost from it, if 1 ran. -..nu- n of the p • .iI 

power of the county. InUst this U tione. I f'^'ir thnt thf 
citizrns of thr Jiee Stntrs tciil nrithrr rttjoy p*^ic*-, mar 9nt'rty 
from fhe arrogance of it$ prrtnisionf, nor f*f j 'd 

ani/ offirt^ umhr this (inrrrnmf^nt, bnt hp its Iftttr. 

I am yours, with -t, 

TUOMAS XOBftlS. 



n 


nrM iitv prob* 


■ •r 


to 


- to b« 


! V ti) 

• 


• any 


h 


1 ^Lill 


rt nnd 


y 


intrresta of 


to my 


.., „ ...t....^ 


^ ha\« i-fD 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 183 

The following letter to A. A. Guthrie, of Putnam, Ohio, 
will explain itself. On the presenting the resolutions of 
the State of Vermont, Southern Senators were roused to 
the highest state of indignation and alarm. 

Mr. Calhoun regarded them, " as striking at the very 
foundation of the Union, and tending to the overthrow 
of the best hopes of mankind. The strongest minds of 
the country were carried away by the Abolition excite- 
ment. He was amazed to see the Senator from Vermont 
pursuing the course he did." " The progress of Aboli- 
tionism must be arrested at home, or the South will take 
care of itself." 

Mr. Lumpkin, of Georgia, declared " that he felt no dis- 
position to countenance or respect attemj^ts to agitate the 
question of slavery, the more because it was brought 
before the Senate by the proceedings of a sovereign State. 
Every lover of this Union, should cease to agitate this 
question. These proceedings are rapidly alienating the 
affections of one portion of the Union from another. We 
should not print these resolutions, nor circulate anything 
from this Senate, calculated to increase the excitement 
and prejudice." 

Washington, January 9, 1839. 

Dear Sir — I received your letter of the 3d inst., to-day 
in the Senate, under circumstances calculated to make a 
deep and lasting impression on my mind. A vote had 
just been taken in the Senate, which, I am sure, once 
understood by the free citizens of the United States, 
would suffuse their face with shame, for the degradation 
of the free States, and their prostration at the footstool of 
slavery, and arouse their indignation to defend their 
rights as citizens, as well as the honor of their States. 

One of the Senators from Vermont (Mr. Prentiss), 
introduced the following resolutions, passed by the Legis- 
lature of his State: 



184 LIFE OF ALU AT OB, MokElH. 

Rewh'd, by th Seu'itr and ll-'U^t of L ''* Th»l 

our Scnutors in < **•• 

sentatives be req ' ^^ I'r** 

vent the anncxatiMU of Toxa* to Ihe I and 
to procure tlie al><>liti«»n *A 

between the ni'veral "• 

Unsolved, That the a- n* 

tatives of the United «'r 

Jasit, of the renolution by wh , ••- 

and papers, touching th- r>f ftlaven-. nr tho 

buying, Helling, or tni?!- ' ^n i . "lAla, 

District, or Territory oi i.., i ;.. wcr« Uid on 

thctable, without being deba* * • ' - - -- ♦'•rrcd, 

was a daring infr^ ■ 'it ui iuv i ilo to 

petition, and a fla^raui vioir* - ot uxv Cuii.-iUuuun of 

the I'nited State-* ; and we ii<.. in the i -f the )»oople 

"f Vermont, p* the ' l the Mime, or 

any Hiniihir r ihc | il wf i*ny ftituro Con- 
gress of the I niled 

/: f, TIjal our ."- :t» in < - be in-trurted, 
and our Kepre re- 
going resolutiuiiH to their r> i ub« 
their influence to carrv ti 

/i'fvi'd, Tliat the (iov. t.i im • a 

cojiy of the foregoing : t of the 

Unite<l States, and to each of our ." - an<l Kepro- 
senlatives in Conirres«». 

State of VruMnvT SrrRrTARV or State*** Orrirr., 

Montprlier, S*jvtndter 30, ISTiS. 
I certify the foregoing to be true eopiM of reMdutions 
passed by the Legislature of this State, on the 5th day of 
November, A.l). 1838. 

CUAl .StLV L. K.NAPP, 

^ V of Sute. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 185 

The introduction of these resolutions created instant 
excitement among the slaveholders in the Senate, and 
objections were made to their reception ; but to refuse tO" 
receive resolutions solemnly passed by one of the sove- 
reign States of this Confederacy, was a measure of so 
high and extravagant a character, that even the slave- 
holding power, haughty as it is, shrunk back from its 
exercise ; one of them observing, that if this was a peti- 
tion from a poor, miserable, individual fanatic, he would 
not receive it. He thought, as it was from a sovereign 
State, it should be received and laid on the table. Mr. 
Prentiss then moved it be laid on the table and printed. 
Arogance always, when checked in its violence, descends 
to meanness. A division of the question was called for ; 
the motion to lay on the table agreed tO ; and the whole 
slaveholding and slave-loving power of the Senate 
exploded its indignation by refusing to print. 

Yes ! the slaveholding power of the country com- 
manded that the Senate of the United States should not 
print the resolutions of a sovereign State, instructing 
their own delegation in Congress ; and the Senate obeyed. 
When that vote was taken, my colleague (Hon. William 
Allen), whose name was called first, voted against the 
printing. Ah! thought I, and you^ too, Ohio! you, who 
owe all your wealth and your prosperity to your free 
institutions ! the land which slavery, as yet, has never 
polluted ! the country within which neither slavery nor 
involuntary servitude can exist, except as a punishment 
for crime, and whose Constitution declares all men are 
born equally free and independent ! Yes, Ohio ! in the 
councils of the nation, subjecting her own principles and 
her own Constitution to be trodden down as "worthless 
parchment," under the foot of slavery. It Avas a degrada- 
tion which I could not have anticipated, and one which I 
would gladly have been spared the mortification of wit- 
nessing. 

16 



186 



LIFE OF §lNATOR MOERIS. 



I retired to my room, after thU Bttein|*t at !'»•«! 
of State ri^'hts, and that, t- • hv mm wh.> rr 
them inviolate. 1 took llu . 
to examine, once more, the w 
gee if any therein enumerat. 
tempt offered 1 ' " ol uic 

Bovercignty of a Mai*j , or ;i the ^ 
not inflici 

the British Kmij i»ad r d ou 

one, who will r^ the i 

before his oy 

Document, and see if Ihov are n 
done bv the to tl 

*' Our citizoii'* havo ) n 

foreign to our < 

laws" — [I; the <aH«? of R#»v 

tectinp, by a mook trial. fn»m : 

[even in the bordem f»f a fr- 

Lovejoy] ; '* Depriving onr r: ; . 

trial by jurj* " — [Mr. \r ^-r^"- - 

phocy, to refer to the F..^-ii»v . »«.» 

bv which anv man. white or c ^ - d. ma> Lm- carried off 

without a jury trial]. ♦• In exery Ma^ of the^ • T»re«- 

sionft (and those 1 have * re but fnuaa), the 

people have potitione<l for iU the mo«l hambU 

terms, and their rrj " m answered 

only ])y repeated re Ap n- 

try, -who.se character in thus markini by ever)* act which 

may define a tyrant, " is unfit to exi»»t anions; a li .e. 

In tlie midhl of these ref jr 

letter! It was ii d newn frr.in a far country." 

It was evidence, that not all Dhioans were %x ^' to %e\\ 

their birthrights for the pnKlucls of the nnri-quitcd labor 
of the slave! No! mv dear Sir, vou have not said loo 
much. Who is a greater tyrant than ho. who seizes upon 
his fellow man, and not only wrestM fmm him the profits 





the < M»id 


t 


1. • -< to the 




, wer was 
than 




any 




of in 
ihc wr 


! 

J 


to a jndirial trial 

our 

B ^ l*ro. 




-^ 


in 

- i, 


.^0 of i r.. I*. 

n nnr ,. .. of the 

* if by pro- 
^« d in 1860, 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 187 

of his labor, his wife and his children, but makes use of 
his very flesh, his sinews, and his bones, as articles of 
merchandize in a foreign market. 

Shall we hesitate, in this matter? No ! Whoever is on 
the side of freedom, of safety, of Union, of the Constitu- 
tion, of humanity, of justice ; in fact, whoever loves his 
country more than he loves negro slavery, let him come 
over to us. Eesistance to slavery is our duty. It is both 
a political and religious duty ; and the only question is, 
how shall we best discharge that duty? We must do it 
with much forbearance and suffering. The moral 2'>oiccr of 
truth will bring us off more than conquerors; — if we are faith- 
ful to our Maker, our country, and ourselves ; if Ave carry 
with us our opposition to slavery into all the social circles 
of life; talk of it there as it is; protect ourselves against its 
blighting influences in the discharge of our political 
duties; rememhcr it at the][)olls; bestow our sufl'rages on no 
man, no matter what he is in other respects, who will 
treat with contem.pt the sovereignty of the States, to feed 
the monster slavery, which, like the grave, is never 
fiatisfied. 

I have written to you as a man and a brother. I know 
not to what political party you belong, nor do I care. 
That party is my party, which sustains those inalienable 
l-ights upon which the very foundations of this Govern- 
ment are laid. I have endeavored to maintain those rights, 
through life, in every situation in which it has been the 
pleasure of my fellow citizens to place me. I shall not 
desert them now, for age has confirmed my belief in their 
truth. And I have consolation in this thought, more 
than in any other connected with my political life, that 
my name, humble as it is, uill he found among those who 
have stood faithful in defense of the Constitutional 
liberty and equal rights of the free citizen ; and in oppo- 
sition to that cruel bondage under which the slave is now 
groaning. 



188 LIFE OF iENAT»>E MORRI9. 

Use no other \veiijx>Dg. then, in t wArf«r#. \ ;: 

Buch as are spiritual, mOBal. and polii ii tiro 

in strict obedience to the laws of the country ondcr whicli 
we live. I have written in term* which may he con- 
sidered han»h : but I have not written with »'•• '•«*♦ HU- 
rcBpoet to men, a/i individuals, or legislator^. 

The grfat pnu ' for %chick lew ar - >--'' r.^uiit 
from us cncrt^. j\rst*u • 



I am, u iiti 



A H (ilTHniE. Km4. 



illi'MA.s MoiiUi.s 



How patriotic, and. alas! how • th« utter- 

aiKCB of these letters. The »; ** of th« 

slave power, since his v«tjce r m in th 

ate and throuL'li tho hilU ar<» 

ments of his \ • ! 

rules liie Goven. ,' * 

Q% a lion^ CMd oi an old Uon I* '-^ or tchnt -mm 

htm up?" 



LITE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 189 



CHAPTER XYI. 

Creed of Parties — Their Tendencies and Results — Warning of Washing- 
ton — Mr. Morris a Democrat from Principle — Catechised by the Demo- 
cratic Legislature — His Answer — Rejected for a Second Term— Benjamin 
Tappan his Successor — Letter to the Ohio Statesman — Charles Ham- 
mond Read out of the Party — A Poem written after his Rejection 
and dedicated to Mr. Morris. 

The rigid creed of political parties, allows no liberal 
latitude in the expression of opinion. If a public man 
does not hold the doctrines of the party, with a dovetail 
exactness, he is, in the technical language of the party, 
read out ; is a rotten member, unworthy of party confi- 
dence. His private judgment and conscience are subsi- 
dized to the inflexible tactics of party machinery; so that 
he is not free to act, or to follow where conscience and 
duty would lead. The political creed, formed often by 
selfish, ambitious politicians, is fixed, and no man can be 
a loyal member of the party, unless he adopts and carries 
out, in every particular, its doctrines. If he does not, ho 
forfeits his party standing, and suffers disfranchisement 
from all political favors. Under this anti-democratic 
rule, politicians, and public men in ofiice, have, against 
the convictions of their conscience and deliberate judg- 
ment, voted for public measures, because they were the 
measures of the party. 

The dangers and evils of this political despotism are 
manifold. It is subversive of true manhood and indepen- 
dence. It substitutes a partisan spirit for national 
patriotism. It is a political inquisition, that tortures men 
to affect to believe what they can not. It enthrones the 
power of party, above conscience, truth, and patriotism, 



'• 


UU 1. - • 




ilt ot 


, u*j av)4. 


1 


thai N\ 





190 MPE OF »*rXATOl. 'l-rtlTs 

and thus tends to thedemoralir •?' .n of the nationsl hMirt. 

It disintcgnite« politi- - "I ' '^ . r».....^6 fr.-i.. !n«»ral 

principlcB; and f*o ^u. - f 

national prosperity and - 
in public men, and • ' 
for parly pur] ana 

oflicc. It is a viriual inl 
nllowiiiu' II' 
it is in I'xari . 

It was in ri 
ton, in his I 

" Tlu- and 

party, are - i 

wiso j.cnplo tn d . rflctmin it. Their 

of puMir r- i. to T' 

to bo qui I. it f\ . 

its bursting into tr it •> i 

consume. 

It is a hopeful and ; .ay indieation, now in iU Inei- 

picnt Rtac^e of dev* ''•"■•♦ -— rijf the p •'■ -f the 
Vnited States, thn* h^.ai i lau.rius made by puiiuoiana, 
have lost the conuu • -' » people. A now 

political and moral -M. aled under 

ftuch a (lisp' 

Senator Mon.- a iK-: • it waa the 

synonym and wau hward of a party, but I -o it wia 

the ropresentativo of doctrines, that i^ . . ntiivcrfal. 

bonoficent, and equal in thi-ir onallm.n, and 

if carried out. in their true intent. •• ' ■• 

world, and 1k-^Ionv on even,* mai ' n of ! 

liberty and all civil and natural riehU. II 
constitutionally incapable of wo: in the traco* of a 

modern party. Indeed he thoutjht party or^i. . 
frequently detrimental to the succcae of principle*. '• I 
follow party,"' said he, -where tho Chm' 'wi'om and prt'n- 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 191 

ciples load.'' And it was his unfiiltering fidelity to true 
Democratic iDrinciples, that secured his banishment from 
the Democratic party. 

The year subsequent to his retirement from the Senate 
of the United States, he was a delegate from Hamilton 
County to the Democratic Convention, which assembled 
at Columbus, Ohio, on the 8th of January, 1840. That 
Convention passed strong resolutions against any political 
movement or agitation, connected with slavery, and 
declared that no sound Democrat would have part or lot 
with it." 

Mr. Morris, faithful to the great principles of Demo- 
cracy, attempted to speak, in defense of the repudiated 
principles. He was permitted, as an act of grace, to go on 
a short time, and then coughed down, and silenced by a 
Democratic Convention, which, in their address to the 
people of the State, reckoned it one of the chief glories of 
Jefferson's administration that "the freedom of speech 
and of the press were restored to the people." 

After Mr. Morris had been silenced, a member rose 
(Mr. Sawyer) and declared — "That the Democratic party 
had no affinity with Abolitionists ; and that he considered 
the gentleman from Hamilton (Mr. Morris) as a rotten 
hranch that should be lopped offy This was received with 
loud shouts of — "Atrreed!" "A2:reed!" "Lethime:o!" 
" Turn him out of the party, and all other Abolitionists 
with him !" 

Previous to the defeat of Mr. Morris, for a second term, 
to the Senate of the United States, the Democratic Com- 
mittee of the Legislature of Ohio, sent him the Democratic 
Creed, for his approval. 

To that communication he sent the following answer : 

Washington, December 11th, 1838. 
Gentlemen — I received yours of the 7th instant, this 
morning, and I reply thereto as soon as possible. You 



192 LIFE OF SENATOR MOKEIS. 

inform mo that, having L^^.. ^..ccieU by the D«mocrfttic 
members of tho LegiMalure of Ci)Ar, ^ i rr,mm-ttrf» to 
interrogate the several persons h*..wvi f"* ' . . - .-'.w* 
Senator, you request my answer to the i- .. .ving inter- 

rogatories : 

1. Are you in luvur ui an ii. ut inaijuij. Bill? 
My answer ia, that I view u.c n. ' -^ of the 

Tna^ury a^ to U»c ' of 

the country it.scil. I am. l. r ui »<« li. .• 

pendent Treai»ury, free i local »n«l private iniV; 

ence. 

2. Are you . - of the moAsurc* of Ihc 

prc.'^vhl A 'i!!. u? 

I answer — I my - 

tion. in whatovt; n I mav J I in 

sition to a Bank of tho ' :» 

regard to the , tho j d the 

disbursmcnt i...:- f; th - nf • . . o 

limitations of tho p.vrrr^ i ^y, fbrthcr, 

that I know of no r i* hv thi» prcaont 

ineiimbent of tho r;\ . .> ..; r, of a :ai charac- 

ter, in which I do not eoncur. I " th» . •• in favor 
of tho leading measures of th« • ' ^ ' 'nti^n 

3. Are you for or against muucru Auviit. 

lam i to tlarrry in all iU fornu ; ana o^amsL iia 

further c\u nsion in our country , l- ' !»g it to be wrong 
in itself, and injurious to the best i 'if the people, 

I view it as a creature of State law only, and that Con- 
gro^s have no power over it, as it cxiatB in the States; 
neither huvo C< lie power to create a By»tem of 

slavery where it <; lot exist, or to give it new and 

additional security. 1 believe that, if the citizens of a 
free State, when within the jur on of a slave 

violate the slave laws of such a State, thev arc aa ju 
punishable for such act :hey ^ 

tion of the laws of euch State in any other particular. 1 



LIFE OF SENATOR MOKRIS. 193 

hold that the citizens in each and every State, have an 
indisputable right to speah, icriie, or print, on the subject of 
slavery, an on any other subject ; always liable to the laAVs of 
the State where the act is done, for the abuse of that 
liberty. The right of petition to the Legislature for a 
redress of grievances, I hold to be inviolate on all sub- 
jects, and above the power of law. 

I believe also, however much we feel opposed to slavery, 
and however wicked and unjust we may believe the sys- 
tem, we are still, under our Government, bound to protect 
the slaveholder in his slave property, by aiding in the 
suppression of servile insurrection, or war. I believe it 
to be the duty of the States as well as their interest, to abolish 
slavery where it exists, but that no other State would bo 
justifiable in interfering for that purpose. 

I also believe the African race, born in our country, or 
brought into it against their will, ought to be protected 
in, and enjoy their natural rights ; but I do not believe it 
would be good policy, or promote the safety of the coun- 
try, the happiness of ourselves, or the ISTegro race, to 
admit them to the enjoyment of equal political or social 
privileges. I believe that the moral power of truth and 
reason, ought alone to be employed on behalf of the 
slaves; and that every citizen has the right to exercise 
this power, which, if rightfully used, will be sufficient for 
the downfall of slavery; and that, in all our intercourse 
with the colored race, we ought, constantly, to give them to 
understand, that we will not aid, but suppress, any attempt 
that may be made for their liberation in any other way. 

I have thought it best to answer your third interroga- 
tory, as I have done, because a direct answer might be 
liable to misconception or misunderstanding. As to what 
modern xibolitionism is ; as it is represented by many, I 
believe it entirely wrong, but whether the representation 
be correct or not, I do not pretend to say. My opinions on 
this question have been often, both in public and private, 
17 



194 Lirr. or senator mor. 

heretofore exprv^Hoil : hut 1 h;r •• ' " '^fly» 

as it seemed to mo I in the ^amo il the 

Hubject was altoirethtr a nrw « i • • ; 16 

fully to comprehend my vi»'w«. from what 1 h«\ 

"4. Areyou willinfT ^ to the y 

your political fricndft ? " 

I urn always willing to ffustnin mv cal 1. - m 

their eclection of men for the j nf »u!»Uinmg 

public measures. Without this i... •^' n^^^^»nT^^ 

however valuable, would bo liable to 1.... 

I have thuR, Gentlemen, answcwd you brv^- and in 
much haste , and v ' .cr coun*cyoa may pui-auc. I hope 
it mav prov' to our fr ' :»nd tend to 

promote the bvsl n y. 

I am, with 

Your 

MA> MnHKlS. 

MS88R8. T. J Hi (IIAMAX. JolIN 1'. II. 

AND David Tod, < .He 

3Ir. Morris ^^. , bv If^n BenJA- 

min Tnppan. with wh'-rr. h«» 1 . in. and 
a legislator, in th- ... .. lurv of Oi. Thoy wcro 
personal and political friend- .. ih Wi.. ^imroineDt 
members of the Democratic p... ^j . and active in the Leg- 
islation of Ohio. Mr. T- • - - ..t . ... -| for hia orotrir^ 

discountenance and op] u lu auu ^iavery d«K:trine«* ; 

and Mr. Morris rejected t- r tavoringand a^lvo' * ' them. 
During a .«eries of years, which had rip ' juio mutual 
friendshi]>. their sentiments, not only on li. J prin- 

ciples of politics, but ■/ on the ^ -l ul Aim-rioan 

slavery, were in harmuuy. Mr Tappan 1 I to a 

distinguished ant i -slavery family, who wen- ;. • the 

pioneers of the anti-slavery enterprise ; and who hi.: . :.d 
persecution for the cause. Arthur Tappan. wlio was 
mobbed in New York, in 1832, and for who»c head the 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 195 

South offei'ed a reward of ten thousand dollars ; and 
Lewis Tappan, who has been connected officially with the 
anti-slavery cause from the beginning almost, were 
brothers of Benjamin Tappan. 

Charles Hammond, the veteran editor of the Cincinnati 
Gazette, said of Mr. Tappan, when elected Senator : " I 
have known him nearly forty years. Not Arthur Tap- 
pan, nor Lewis Tappan have either ever evinced a more 
settled scorn for the slaveholder's pretensions, on the whole 
subject of slavery, than Benjamin Tappan has manifested 
in his whole life and conduct, until a surrender of opinion 
has been made a party test. If he has surrendered, it is 
but another instance of the debasing power of party drill. 
But Benjamin Tappan is anti-slavery, and his Avhole soul 
is as strong as that of John Quincy Adams against the 
assumptions of the slaveholder. He distinguished himself 
in his profession, in Jefferson County, for a succession 
of years, in maintaining the rights of the Negro." 

Mr. Tappan signalized his first effort in Congress, by 
refusing to present to the Senate, petitions, on the subject 
of slavery, from his own constituents. 

He said, that " slavery and tlie slave trade, in the District 
of Columbia, were no grievances to the people of Ohio, and 
that for myself, I can not recognize the right of my fliir 
country-women to meddle in public affairs." 

On the 21st of December, 1838, Mr. Tappan was elected 
Senator from Ohio. When the result of the election 
reached Mr. Morris, he wrote to the Editors of the Ohio 
Statesman^ then and now, the organ of the Democratic 
party, at the capitol of the State, the following letter : 

Wasiiix\gton, DecenTl3cr 2(3, 1838. 
Messrs, Medary, and Brothers — I received your paj^er of the 
2l8t, in the afternoon of the 24th, in which is stated the 
result of the election of Senator in Congress, b}' the Legis- 
lature of the State. There is also in the same paper, 



190 I'l^^- ^' SENATOR MOrnmi*. 

Bome remarks of yoar.. v 1 »• ^^^^ ^^ 

me a justification of my oil .... I ^^' »*J 

have immediately wrillen to yoa. hnt it the Ev« 

of Chrifttmas, and the timr and r 

unfavorable. 

There was not a man :.■ ' ' »U the com- 
dates, whom 1 would pr. i- . rv Jud^'c T«%r.r.an ; and I 

I II f i.;a • - .1' t T i...f 11? ,nd froni 

should rej t hn* • hvm. 

your remark?*, and fruiu i.Ui. r . ..vi.;cu from 

a source in whi< h I havt- lull « '^"■' '^'^ «l«i- 

lion is to be . -^^^ i ***^«' •• 

Senator, taken hire; and U.c . i have. aA a pri- 

vato citir-en, i on ' ' m I hop* 

this mav not be the cam?, bat a d U-for* 

the count rv, I J- .ni to the < > 

tution. to the j to n I »»••*. on thia 

01 1, ro-ftvert the } » I have con- 

Btantly ai * 

I have known my ^ lany years. 

We, I think, have » •'♦d o« 

political hubject.H ; and on the ^ ' nf - v. my 

memory is, that he ^^ .. re ^^r ^, that 

system than myself I am I .....-•d in this p* », 

because I well remember that his oppr»ailioii to slavery, 
was an objection n*-"- ' « 'ninst him when he waa a candi- 
date for District J i our Sute. What his opinion* 
now are on this suijllI, I am unable to aay. but would be 
much pleased to learn. 

You say : ■ That a - i>i \> :iin: vi"»jtoni, 

with the members ol lUc i mil judf^e Tappan 

in the larcre Hall of the AmcrKiiii il • ' ' it the Judge, 
in reply to t(Te 'complimentary toast, to the ."^ ' i, 

replied in a neat and m nner. ile dwelt 

with effect upon the blunders that had been put into 
circulation in regard to his being an Abolitionist, and 
was responded to with the most thrilling a< rlamationa, 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 197 

and (as I understood you) his views on this subject, as 
well as upon others, correspond entirely with the present 
Administration, and the present majority in Congress." 

It has, perhaps, been my misfortune to love and respect 
the Constitution of my country, and the rights of the 
people under it, more than an Administration or a majority. 
Placed in this situation, and under the ban of a Majority, 
I respectfully ask the Legislature to recall me, if I have, 
in any act or vote here, done that which they deem inju- 
rious to the best interests of the country. The shjortne^s 
of the remaining time of my service, I consider no objec- 
tion or excuse for the Legislature ; as in a case like the 
present, the man and the time are nothing, the example 
everything. I would follow the example set me by 
members of the House of Eepresentatives from our own 
State, if I had satisfactory evidence, clear to my mind, 
that the Constitutional Body, the Legislature of State, 
disavowed my principles and doctrines. 

In order that I may stand correctly before the country, 
I will state, as succinctly as I can, my actions and opinions 
as a Senator in Congress, and even some of the private 
opinions I entertain as a citizen ; and hope the General 
Assembly if they think them incorrect, will promptly 
disavow them, and instruct me to act otherwise, even 
during the present session. The question is considered 
by all as one of vast importance. It is one on which the 
country requires their action ; though an individual might 
very properly complain of injustice if stricken down with- 
out a hearing. I will briefly state some votes I have 
given here, on the difterent propositions connected with 
the slavery question, for the consideration of the Legisla- 
ture and the people of the State, in order to give a full 
understanding of the subject. 

President Jackson, in his Message to the first session of 
the 24th Congress, invited the attention of Congress "to 
the painful excitement produced in the South, by attempts 



198 MPB OP SEXATOB IfOKKIS. 

to circulate, thr.ini^h the mail, inflammmton- appoik 
addressed to the slavoji." AAor spt-akin!* '" «trr,r.fTiorm« 

af^ainst such jir ''• - ^' " *■* to r • '-^ State 

authorities thai lu inciii pr-jt ii\ i ^ - part of the 

subject. He further ' iii. i"«-i^ <**n the 

attention of ( i.> it. ' illy §u^. 

gcst the propriety ul : i» ** i"^ a<» uiii ' hit, 

under severe penalties, the » n. in the N»iiihern 

Statert. of incendiary pu 1 to « 

the slave to insurrection 

To this . of the r. !it I fit- y 

objected at t ho time; waa bruifKi in. in 

pursuance of the i H proeT«--od »« it 

is u.sual. until Mr. < \n p. amend- 

mentvS. which were n- . bv an fVfn vote \N In-n the 

question was taken on the < t. and th*- vote 

stood 18 to 18, the Vice Pr. Mr. Van Buren,) 

voted for the enL"--^ -'"•"• both the '^••"-I'or* ftrora New 
York were on tliv '.ih.' -idc. On tit. i...rd readmit of 
the Bill the vote stood 19 for the Bill. 25 a^rainat it. In 
every stage of this antiAl>olition Bill. I oppoeed it. To 
prtsirvc the cor ..... ^ inapee- 

tiou, and the rii^ht ol the e Ut u»« tito I'ofit Oflee 

Department, and the •-• ' " '^n down 

under the slavehohlii. vor. wma my ni'wl nnlent wi«h. 

We succeeded atu r iin^ 

interest not then iK'in^oi 'her. as it 

afterward was and now is. This 1 t to be con- 

sidered my tii>t Al n. lasL M. but hope 

the Legislature will di>avow the act, if they think 1 erred. 

Tlie next prominent question on this su:^ ', w««. the 
presentation of petitions praying f«»r thf u ■ of 

slavery in the District of Columbia. I pL-i.:. i t!- 
petitions, and advocated their reference to a commit .■ . 
to consider llie .subject. I am willing to admit, that they 
were the petitions of actual Abolitionists. Petitions of 



LITE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 199 

this kind I have now in ni}^ possession, and I feel it my 
duty to present them, and move for the action of the Sen- 
ate on the same. I respectfully ask the Legislature to 
instruct me on this point, as I do not wish to misrepre- 
sent the State a single moment. If the Legislature are 
of the opinion that the petitions of Abolitionists, praying 
for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, 
ought not to be presented to Congress ; or when pre- 
sented, that the right of petition is not abridged, by a 
member objecting to their recej)tion, and laying the 
motion on the table, without deciding whether the peti- 
tion shall be received or not, is a correct and Constitu- 
tional proceeding — it is a very easy matter so to inform 
me. My course of duty will then be plain. 

Mr. Calhoun's resolutions were the next great Anti- 
Abolition movements. They speak for themselves. I 
voted against them all, as I think, without an examina- 
tion of the vote, as it may appear on the Journal. The 
resolutions can be approved, and my course censured, if 
it be necessary as a peace-offering to sustain slavery. 
The counter-resolutions I offered are before the public. 
I, soon after their introduction, abandoned the idea of 
asking for them a separate vote, as those offered by Mr. 
Calhoun brought the whole subject into debate. There is 
one specific proposition, however, which I submitted, 
which is in the following words, and to which I would 
ask particular attention. It is: 

"And the privilege of the people to speak, write, print, 
and publish their opinions, on any subject whatever, 
whether the same concern the political, moral, or reli- 
gious institutions of any State, or on the nature and con- 
dition of man, as born equally free and independent, is 
indisputable; and those exercising that privilege are 
responsible for the abuse of this liberty to the State alone, 
in Avhich such writing, speaking, printing, or publishing 



200 LIFE or »»WATO» XOBBIt. 

actually takes j.la. c In lavor of •" tl>«r« 

were 9 votes airaii'-'t ^2. 

I pronounce this .ial of ihc truih -pro- 

position I submitted, one of the mo«»t • rv voia« 

ever ^iven in r..». 'f. -« f^ on %ri!l 
iii£^ airainst rn<y ' . "•• -..-.j - - "^ tl.- 

have, by this vor cried that the c - of the pro- 

poslion is true, tuui liie pe<»ple have •-' •nch r.^....- at 
are there i-numerated, and that iho j •■ '^v bt indi- 

vidually r. V' for acU dono ii ...io to Ui« 

laws of anuiher Tho prBclical lUtil of t' - • *»-. 

Mr. Mahan, of lir-.wn ' ' '• but t%tu lao 

court of a - ' ^*» "wal- 

low this n. 'r. AU«i, 

voted atrain^t ihi** p; li*»» ' "• 

and I liilVcri'l ^vi.i^•lv. 

You sooin to think thai n have 

abler and warmer sii J^nii his 

measures (not of tho < the peo« 

pie. but of tho runsn»FNT nfpl h in U»th 

branches of tho next .;. iho 1 .ao. 

Do the Democratic n. r« of tho I iV the 

truths of the prop. .. us I »ti>»miv tome 

thev do: for I have boon '"^ nod aa lh«. . nd of 

Abolitionism, without one r. ;iff quality. In perfect 

respect to the Body, may I hope tlioy ^^'^ ;»^trii,t r^r 
reprove me on this point also. 

I Could enlarge on the sub; * • ; 1 have 

alreadv been tedious. I have noi .-ct uu«u "tie word in 
bitterness, but with tho most entire r t to the Lejfia- 

lature of my State, who have t' ui jay opinions, aa 
exjtres:^ed on the subject of slavery, of "' i imj 
tance to ostracise me. This is in • .luco wiU* 

the demands of tho slaveholder — •* You ihaii not expr««A 
an opinion against our slavery institutions; if you do, wa 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 201 

will revenge our injuries," say the slaveholders. Do the 
Democracy of Ohio respond to this sentiment, and say — 
^- We want no one to belong to our ranks who speaks 
against slavery ; that will make Southern gentlemen 
very wrathy?" I drop the subject. I grow sick at the 
reflection ; I hope it all may be fancy, but I fear its 
reality. 

I have never, to my recollection, brought forw^ard or 
urged a single proposition, in favor of the down-trodden 
and suffering slave. My only apology, before God, and 
my country, is, that I have as yet discovered no ray of 
hope for him, until public opinion shall become more united 
and vigorous in his behalf. In order to keep his fetters 
secure, the freedom of speech and debate on his behalf is 
stricken down, and now lies dead in the Halls of Congress. 
But I rejoice to know, that, when individual rights have 
been broken down, and trodden upon in Congress, they 
have found support in the State Legislatures ; and when 
liberty has been strangled there, she has been resuscita- 
ted by the people, and bestowed upon all as a common 
birthright. 

To preserve the Constitutional rights of man has been 
my constant object. There is, j)erha2DS, no instance to be 
found, in which the first advocates of liberty in any 
country, were not few in number, and a jDersecuted class 
by those, who in power, were gaining by the oppression 
of others. They have been branded with every odious epithet, 
and charged with seeking to destroy the peace, and hap- 
piness of the country. The promulgation of their opin- 
ions has been prohibited, because power, unrighteously 
exercised, always seeks to carry on its operations secretly, 
darkly, and without examination by others. 

Do not suppose I regret the loss of power ; I would 
not wish to exercise it against the opinions of m^^ State ; 
nor would 1 wish its possession for a moment, if I should 
feel constrained to use it to depress or destroy human 



202 i.\rr. or sfsatom mobris. 

liberty. 1 Jeef dewutiy // / fo mv .V <. ./ 

grateful to my Stalf, for thr ri ' -f.-^v «rA«r« mjr Ai 

hU name, apptart uj>*tn th- '•JT count qf, •» 

opposition to thtfry, and among ike j. .. .. 4 oj iMe poor. trodtUm 
dotrn. and broken-hearted $iare, f katt no iriiA lo occupy amy 
situation, in which all the povm of my w*-' "»«jr mot '^ ^^f!f 
exercised in thit high, and permit me to my. /••/>. 

sulject to the laws of the ciyuntry in wkieh I mtiy f-c. 

And when the hand of ti • ' ^1 tu ike tati kumr or luy 

exittfnre', I trust that my j€rr<tU ' wiay 6c, tkat tkt 

Almighty, in his g^Mnl time. «ri7/ ' ike J^^ •» 

th'it cruel ilarery undrr whfk ihry arr i. oamtmg , and that 

the lilertirs and I of my evwmtry tmmy U j 

That tills will he a« 
but little doubt : and that an < 
80 order the atfair> of <)ur laml that tl. 
place withont dihtur I truit 

is the ardent d«'«ir«» ^f «»v<»rv • "d to 

the true prinr;; .*. 

TlioUA't MoftKtB. 

N. li. When I oommencod thifi letter. I intended it for 
your private inspection only, but my mind • ' •" — \ aa I 
progressed, and I leave it to you to publiah, u \ vu think 
proper. 

Every rising huh ccjiihrms me in the truth ot luc ujmu- 
ions I entertain on this ' The power of i*laver>' 

here is fm ' /« — its m*ir'/t u ^ It avown the 

bold determuuiUon. that by the r«.i»i,t»i • • ' .• I'nited 

Starts. MKN ARK PROPERTY. an«l that I'vi-rv « i ban 

« 

the riiijht to use his ])ropcrty in eaeh and every State in 
the Tnion ; therefore, slaverv. at the will of the slave- 

bolder, may exist in all the - « i 

law.*? of States are mere cobwebs, when thev come in 
contact with this claim to make men property. Kven 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 203 

this cant phrase, Negro property, is used by many of our 
own citizens in Ohio. There can be no doubt but, he who 
seems to dwell with pleasure on this idea, would feel 
much pleasure also, in aiding to establish slavery among 
lis, with all its withering influences. I ask the vigilant 
and solemn attention of our citizens to this point. 



" This letter," said Dr. Bailey, " must exalt the charac- 
ter of Thomas Morris, in the estimation of every one, 
whose opinions are of any value. It is his praise, rare 
praise for a politician, that he loves his country and the 
Constitution, better than his party or its measures. Few 
except those, whose generous feelings have been destroyed 
by pro-slavery rancor or party bigotry, will deny to 
Thomas Morris the credit of being an able, honest, inde- 
pendent, a consistent and high-minded patriot." After 
his defeat, it was proclaimed through the country, that 
Thomas Morris was a martyr to his principles. He is 
laid on the altar of Slavery as a peace offering to the 
South. Slaveholders commanded, and the party obeyed. 
He will rejoice in being counted worthy to suffer for the 
truth. 

After his defeat, the following Poem was published and 
dedicated — 

"Co Ibe lott. Cbomas Pnrris. 

The heart and lip are dumb! 

And the Southern taunt is tamely met 
Our kneeling day is come I 

Freedom's bright Star hath set! 
The recreant West hath kneeled 

To the footstool of the South ; 
And the voice of her OAvn free son Is sealed, 

The gag is in her mouth. 



204 LIFE OF SEX A TOR MORRtM. 

And what hMt tXam 6am, thAl thrj 

SboaM frown up ^r 

And what b ihe crim- ib^r ibu rrpAj. 

With a d*rk aod r^w ♦ 

While our cottntrj*.* ■ rr. 

In pride and pomp, ^ ,«-. 

Thou hAft l«nl an i-n- • '^' -ifiM •!•••. 

In his bitter ^§Mtj 

Thou hadst cje«. ani o.v«.J not bt Uiad 

To his hot and bilitr tear*: 
Nor daaf to Um •hrirkt that loaa lac wuad 

Nor eokl to the mother's foars. 
Thj lip emW m< be dumb 

To plead for t 
Though tbe stem rvboke aarvhij Ml 

Ptmb the • .« p«ra. 



Thou art c>oe of the few who art 

Than thoM ibey rr^prreent; 
Who rise to break tbe boadaiaa's fetter. 

Ere Mercy's daj be spent ; 

Who cherish th« fr^l'J<>n worda 
That are frooi . .oa WB. 

Undjing gems that flash from tba Up* 
Of the glorious Jf^*r«'.n. 



TAere an mm* teium . ,. 

Who can see tbe slave all gory. 
And scarred with the mark of tbe driTcr's tbong. 

Yet talk of their conntry's glorj' 
Who can smite on the bowed with jt9LX% 

As he perishoth in the sun ; 
And coldlj look on the orphan's tears 

As she prays her life 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 205 

Thank God there are hearts that feel 

For the out-cast bleeding poor ; 
Thank God, there are meri who will not kneel 

And laud the evil-doer. 
And thou art one of those, 

Who as they feel dare speak; 
"Who can not spurn the bondman's woes, 

Or spurn the poor and weak. 

And thou the wise and good, 

"We oft will pray for thee ; 
Thou hast done as thy country's freemen should, 

"While battling for her free. 
Thou hast our warmest love — 

Thou hast our freshest tears ; 
And shalt have, while the bright stars shine 

Down to our latest years ! 

Farewell ! farewell ! ! Unknown 

Though the minstrel is to thee, 
Re hath tuned his harp to an humble tone 

For the Champion of the free. 
And in its dying cadence-moans — 

<• May sorrow find thee never ; 
And love and truth, with their kindest tones, 

Be with thee, now and ever." 



206 MFB or SENATOR MOftRI« 



C H A P T K R \ \ I I . 

ERfxTlox of lVnn«\!TMJ» TT \' , ^ 

cians an'l I' • • » — ''" 

The ContinpnUl f<<»t« — Mr " 

inTiiod 10 the IV ■«? — lu, nu 

menu. 

On the l^^th of May 1«^'V» thr • 

in Philadelphia. c<jni; 

aud with inijv -• ••- - 

Freedom, ond in- *i »« i»- 

who erected it that u i- i. * 

purp' ilono, V)ut for any pu: 

charm ;♦!. It whh a T- 
all suhjects rolatin;: t'» li*. j 
elevation and fr< ; of all n 

It bore the title <»l • Peni 
graced it<i interior, and on 
on which wa,«* enLTraven, th- ' ^»th 

of Pennsylvania, 

ViRT! F, LiBEBTT, AXD I^ K. 

l)istini;uij*hcd men fVom all parties in politico, and from 
various sects in religion, were invir ' 'he present at its 
dedication. A host of the sons of iitt i»in were pn^ent, 
and very many, wrote lotteni of c«jngratulation and 
sympathy. 

John Quincy Adam?*, in -•• to a iciicr oi iii\ na- 

tion, wrote from his neat in I The right of dis- 

cussion upon f*lavery and an ii. le extent of topics 

connected with it, banished trom one half of the Statoe of 



an 

1- 


.1 


roedi 

H«»!intifal hall, 
.; ^j Truth and 
vlmt«^l bv tho*o 

• 


' 


• 


^ • • lavery 
• it ail immoral 


I'T 


irec discttsaion on 
ty, and the 


lint 

! 


I 

a 


1. -» 

1 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 207 

this Union. It is suspended in both Houses of Congress, — 
opened and closed at the pleasure of the slave representa- 
tion ; opened for the promulgation of nullification 
sophistry; closed against the question, WHAT IS 
SLAYEEY? at the sound of which the walls of the 
Capitol staggered like a drunken man." 

"For this suppression of the freedom of speech, of the 
freedom of the press, and of the right of petition, the 
people of the Free States of this Union, (by which I 
mean the people of the non-slaveholding States,) are 
responsible, and the people of Pennsylvania most of all." 
"I rejoice that in the city of Philadelphia, the friends of 
free discussion, have erected a Hall for its unrestrained 
exercise. My fervent wishes are, that Pennsylvania Hall 
may fulfill its destination, by demonstrative proof, that 
freedom of speech in the city of Penu shall no longer be 
an abstraction." 

Distinguished Ministers, also, rejoiced in so ausj^icious an 
event. Rev. ^Nathan S. Beman, D. D., of Troy, Kew York, 
a man of great pulpit talents and celebrity, in the Xew- 
School, Presbyterian Church, w^rote to the committee on 
this wise : '-I felt honored in your choice, and my feelings 
were deeply enlisted. My own heart is with you. We 
can not forbear to express our abhorrence of chains and 
stripes; and should we do it, the very stones loould cry out. I 
rejoice that there is a spirit still in existence, that will 
not bow to the altar of slavery, nor tamely submit to the 
dictation of those, who declare in high places, that it is a 
wise and holy institution, and that it shall be perpetual. 
What a contest is this to be waged in a land of Eepub- 
licanism, and a land of Christianity ! But if the charter 
of these two systems — the Declaration of Independence 
and the Bible, are permitted to speak, now, certain is it 
that the rights of nuui will he triumphant.'^ 

David Paul Brown, a distinguished lawyer of Philadel- 
phia; and Alvan Steuart, a noble hearted philanthropist 



208 



LIFK or SBBATOR MoBlia. 



of New York ; and other .i: : and 

were present, and made - 

cation. 

The davof it- *»"< « V 

its destruction. The fi?»ti\ 
mingled in union. Thre« da^ 
freedom wam pcrmillcd to stand :n a 
William Penn, and in a counlrj' v. .. 

proclaim freedom of *^' ^' '- • "** oft.. 

trines of the Govemni« ni »..o ir ••' • • 

man. On the 17th of Mav, i-^o, a m 
men of intell' • and by the mr* 

Philadelphia, put the t<»r« h to the i. 
few hoars it sto^wi a ►; 
and slaver}'. 



• to 

♦ 

i to 

by 

.a 

... unal doc> 
• '>ablc rigbta of 

.1. auluunUca of 

'• ri.]de. and io m 

: lo inccndiarUm 



Tbtt " w ia mia hm: 

Thf t.r^*t*.n'» on iu • -1 wail. 

And oj^-n t'-- tVi' ' .'• 

Its bl*'-k an i . 

It Bta' ' >. ' -r X 

A gTh 



But from that ruin. 

Thr fir. • 
And from th«>ir 

Its timbrrs are r 
\ Toic* which •' 
Speaks from •' 



of old. 
tlicmarl rt« art cTj\r.t. 



••■Tl ! •* 



The old State-Houte, redolent with Kcvolutionary 
inspirations, and forever aacred to freedom — where the 
the patriots and statesmen of 177G counseled and prayed, 
and pledged their "lives, their fortunes, and their sacred 
honor." to the cause of freedom and uf human rights — 
stood, and yet stands, in the city of Philadelphia. On that 
old State-House hangs a Bell, imported from England in 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 209 

Colonial times; and on it, is engraven this inspired and 
prophetic motto of Freedom : 

"Proclaim Liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants 

thereof/^ 

When the torch of the incendiary was put to that Tem- 
ple of Freedom, that old Bell which had, in the dark days 
of the Eevolution called patriots together, should have 
sent forth its peals of warning to those enemies of free- 
dom and their country. 

Thomas Morris, defending the true principles of the 
Government and of liberty in the Senate of the United 
States, being invited to aid in the Dedication, wrote from 
his seat the following letters : 

Washington, January 30, 1838. 
Friends — I received on j^esterday, your esteemed favor 
of the 26th instant; and I congratulate you and the 
country, that in your city a Hall has been erected sacred 
to liberty and free discussion. Born in Pennsylvania, 
but at a very early age removed into the Western Coun- 
try, I was a citizen of Ohio, at the adojDtion of her Con- 
stitution, and during the greater part of the last thirty 
years, have borne an humble part in the Legislative 
Assembly of my own State, where by my best efforts, I 
have constantly endeavored to maintain and establish 
those great principles, in support of which your society 
is now engaged. I feel unable to express my heartfelt 
emotions, on receiving your invitation to be present at the 
opening of the Hall in the emporium of my native State, 
a city renowned for its philanthropy and benevolence, and 
now affording new evidence of those inestimable virtues, 
by the erection of a hall, in which liberty and equality 
of civil rights can be freely discussed, and the evils of 
slavery fearlessly portrayed. AYhile the spirit of slavery 
is grasping at the power of our countrv, threatening a 
18 



210 LITE OF SENATOR XOmKlt. 

disunion of the Statos ;. orning 

it bo destroyed, and even in tl. ii.:irk:ii|; itt 

progress in scenes of bl4>4*d ; it i* a . and con- 

gratulation that I\nnf«ylvanim — thai I'nii \: ri rniA is 
about to consecrate one f*iH»t. at least w In maj 

be fearlessly portrayed. Slavery .•- j.... -...a hate* 
the light, because ita r!- '- ••— - ' •» and lo banish it 
entirely from our counirjk . inv ^n alone ta ainplj 

fiuffirient. 1 rejoice in the * ^oa of the 

country, and in receivir " that my 

fellow citizens arc ' i lo tuauiia.u lUiHM* inaliena- 

ble rights, without v ' ' in a aitmttfla 

little in advance of the m via 

I will, if life and hoaliii • -^nt 

at the opening of yur Ilaii. r»tii i would ; ^« 

with the delivery of an a-; .1 I 

do so COD ^. aA 1 c. . ; •^*' 

myself capable of u lo thai n ;i>.^ 

which is alrt a ly . on tbi» »» g 

topic ; but w)s.«»'» ver feeble - o I « to tlM 

great and g- •• in ^^ y«»a are t will be 

cheerfully offered. 

You will, for youraelvea. and tbr.s.. w K.-.m v •: r^^pre- 
eent, accept the assurance of my I 

Mr<^i'.>^ Samiel Webb. J. M. Tbiman. 

AND W" "^TKeE. (^ 



MuHUIS 



The following leiior ir-ni Th.-maa Horria waa alw) 
received bv the Committee : 

Wabhijcgton. May 11. 

Gentlemen : — I have seen in the /V /m.i J-rrrmam 

of the 3d inst.. with sensations of the . itilude, 

the favorable notice you have been y . to take of my 

name, in your general invitation to the public to attend the 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 211 

opening of the Pennsj^lvania Hall on the 1-itli of the 
present month, Avhieh Hall, I understand, is dedicated to 
free discussion. 

It ^vould afford me the highest pleasure to be present 
and join you in this work of universal charity and love, 
could I feel that my public duties as well as my health 
would justify it — domestic concerns having lately called 
me to Ohio ; I have but just resumed my seat here ; it 
seems proper, therefore, that I should not willingly, at 
this time, absent myself from the Senate. 

Your Hall, as I have said, is to be dedicated to free 
discussion. What a train of solemn reflections does the 
very thought create in the mind. Is it possible, that in 
the free State of Pennsylvania, in the quiet and orderly 
city of Philadelphia, (a city not inaptly called the city of 
*' brotherly love,") that in all places, and all times, /ree 
discussion on all questions connected with the religion, 
morality, the welfare of the country, or the rights of man, 
can not be had with safety to the citzen, and the peace 
and quiet of the community ? I presume this can not be 
the case in 3^our city, and was not the great moving cause 
vhat induced your humane, philanthropic, and patriotic 
dtizens to erect the Hall which they are about to open. 

If, however, Pennsylvania is safe, if Philadelphia is 
secure from all attempts to put down the right of free 
discussion, the liberty of speech, and the press, your fellow 
citizens have seen and felt that all parts of our beloved 
country is not thus highly favored. It is gratifying, 
indeed, that while the enemy of human rights and 
Constitutional liberty, is, in our country, making rapid 
advances to power, endeavoring as far as in him lies, not 
to silence discussion, but even to muzzle the press itself, 
knowing that his principles can not stand the test of 
examination, Philadelphia has the honor to erect a barrier 
which he can not pass, and a battery which ho can not 
silence, but which will effcctuallv destroy his whole 



212 MFE or SINATOR MORRIS. 

power, by the c - «'t^f^ **T'"^ •li *»»• preUn- 

sions may be fully and fairly 1 

This act of vour citiT-rn*; T * as « locnl act 

m 

merely. It is not for i : - , to r c» iu 

benefits, but the whole eouutry — th- . ;.d. lu 

objects are univenuii and impartial o to all men in 

every condition, to . * ^ lii»h each lu - ^n inherent, 

individual, and inai lo righU, to ^i^v warning of 

apjiroachin^' d; auu «tay the rod of the oppreaaor ; 

and as hu( h. wi- « laiin for '" >f con 'i a bright 

pajjo in the 1 y of < 

Every philanth: 
deplore the riots, i« 

have taken ) u our ^ :rown : 

will be Hu; 

mo.-^t outr; ll'»w «.non 

destru'ti«»n of the prf>*. \ 
in d« of human ritrhi" * 

you not heanl tliat fr- rn A > 

been, by a lawless mob. (»u ^ d to the u> 
of the wiiip.^ lias not tho weapon of the u 
its victim bleeding at his feet ^>r no crime, for DO act bat 
that which you intend to pr... ^ in the Hall you have 
erected — the exercise of the right of rari Discrasiox ? 
While I rejoice that ^-our citixena are embodying them- 
selves to march forward to the r- I mourn for my 
country that this same fell spirit uu.ch has urged mobs, 
not only of tho " baser sort," but of « -h who claim to 
be respectable, to ' ' of v " " ' ' ud 
its way in some Ut^^ive into the ■ ami the ollicial 
stations of the country, into the 1 of s- and I 
much fear into the very pclpit il«eif, thus rendering 
insecure all that is dear and - i to man. 

I would willingly draw a veil over the proct :s of 

that body, of which I have the honor to be a member, in 
regard to the important ri^jht of frft dacumon. if the 



:rn and 


it of late 


!ia 


oi ihe 


of the 


*!»ly 


. • Hiive 


. . o 


rturo 


.n laid 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 213 

deep sense of the obligations of duty which 1 feel to you 
and the country, would permit me to do so. This same 
spirit, which you are about so nobly to rebuke, has been 
able, in the very halls of Congress, to silence debate at 
its pleasure. It has been able to strike its deadly fangs 
into the most vital part of American liberty. It has 
denied the right of petition, in all its essential qualities, 
to a large portion of our fellow citizens, on a subject they 
deemed worthy of their highest consideration, and 
materially affecting the honor and interest of our country. 
If it were possible, I would that I could persuade myself 
not to believe this ; but while the records of our country 
bear witness to the fact, it can not be. I fervently pray 
that the tear of some recording angel may yet be dropped 
upon the words of shame and dishonor, and blot them out 
forever. 

If the supreme Legislature of the country can right- 
fully, in any one possible instance, refuse to receive, hear, 
and act upon petitions sent by any portion of the human 
race who are subject to our laws, or owe allegiance to our 
Government, I can see no safe guaranty for this high 
privilege in any case whatever, when it shall come in 
contact with power, interest, or influence. For if an 
individual right which was deemed of a character too 
sacred to be regulated or controlled by the people them- 
selves, by their highest fundamental law, (the Constitu- 
tion,) and placed by that instrument above the power of 
Congress to ABRIDGE — can be withheld or restrained by 
that body, it is hard to discover what political or natural 
right you, or I, or any other citizen, can calculate upon 
as secure. If the right of petition fail us, will it not 
prove that the whole fabric of the Constitution is rotten 
and not w^orth our care ; its preservation in such case for 
any valuable purpose might well be considered doubtful. 

It is not only the right of petition that has been 
abridged. The freedom of delate has been stricken down, and 



L'U 



Lirr. or sexatob mobbis. 







.1- 


' -at n- 






n 


ill the 

lAttlill 






want 


Ai 


P' 




in 




• ti 


1 •■ 








». •' 


U.W' 


(b 


<• XC 


»rch 


in : 



Wet dead in Ou / . ' . «r<» .h1 U 

Hiibmit not only to a rule wh^h ^^ on m 

question to lay a motion or pr ^ » ••. and 

wliich a majority can alway? nsr to pat an end to diAcos- 

fiion diwipreoable to thom, i. iini>ortant it may be 

toothers: but the coantry iv " .» ...^..- »' .. t r. .... of 

her most tahntod sons, w^ 

liced tor tlu* cxori inc oft ui ui irx-c 

very hall of C- .1. it woold \ 

if, in the 1 ' 

of j)t'r-oij;ii ■..<iiri;\, ti..- >v 

the chambt'r» of ihc 

remairu'<i tirin and 1 

also to d the 

hand, scant' I v f. 

to fire hJH ii 

exercifU) of his ur 

of his opinion ; and the : 

ftilenre the ])reR.H bv it^ 

n whoso ri'il i 
of his innocent victim, find not only 

and this new r..^.- nf morals which »^ 

upon the expr* — 11 of our th •""' ♦ 

may atVect some | viary lu 

wicked practice, t. ^ the d-Liriuu that a pnntini^ 

preBs may be broken ujj, a man's hotiMc may be burnt, and 
the owner slain by violence, and yet ; o \>t ot iltt ! 

It has been said, and I think truly, thul Uie ^ ta of 

juries r^ivc the character of the country. ^^Jlfcl. then. 
will be the charactir of our cvinntry licfore an impartial 
world, if juries shall continue to lend th. vea to thin 

same spirit of misrule, and \ and i 

But if we withflraw our vuw tr-.m the • 1 

authorities of the land, from men in official nt : 

extend it over the country at lartre. what do we behold? 
The Bowie-knife and the pistol substituted for reaaon and 



\^ 



: to 

* ' 

■ t the < 1 

in bat favor : 

'"**e reatrnint 

the truth 

• Ai' -'- name 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 215 

argument, usurping the power of the laws, or setting 
them at defiance, — the actors professing to draw the 
example from high places of power, and justifying them- 
selves bv the actions of men who claim to be amons: our 
most respectable citizens. It is against the freedom of 
speech, the right of free discussion, that these ruffians in 
society wage their fiercest war. 

I am aware that it mav be thou^-ht that I have written 
hard things against my fellow citizens; but do not the 
facts that exist justify me ? And should I not be faithless, 
indeed, and recreant to all my princi2:)les, if, when writing 
to you on the important event which you are about to 
celebrate, I should either fail or fear to express my 
thoughts fully and freel}^ ? If I did not do so, I might 
well be considered a mocker of the institutions I j)rofess 
to honor. The picture I have presented, I know is one 
not calculated to flatter our vanitj^ ; but it is no fancy 
sketch — it has all the painful vividness of reality. 

We should ponder on the signs of the times with serious 
deliberation. "We have been and are still a prosperous 
and favored people; but I fear that in the eyes of Him 
in whose hands are our destinies, and who can search the 
heart, we are viewed as a proud and sinful nation. And 
if his chastisements have not already commenced, our 
wickedness, without repentance, must call them down at 
last. 

To understand our errors, and know the evil that 
besets us, is the first step toward reformation. To 
examine into, and ascertain the causes which have produced 
those evils, is necessary to their radical cure. This 
examination I shall now attempt. There is implanted in 
our very nature a love of i)Ower and dominion, no doubt 
for wise and beneficial purposes ; but dominion, in the 
creation of man, was only given him over "the fish of the 
sea, the fowl of the air, the cattle, and every creeping 



21G 



LIPE OP 8EMAT0R MOERIl 



thing that creepoth upon t ..• earth." It wa« 

never intended by the Creator that man should have 
dominion over his fellow-mfln ^»nt by hit full and free 

consent. Had this been iniv J, it w-ii'-l have been 

were fixed 



j..^:... 



t... 



A liC C.\'- 



uuA 



lur 



:cd and c 



given when the ^ 
and established. 
8ubject8 man to invuluntarv 
to which he ha.i not i-' 
violation of the laws oi 
nature of man, who, ti 
imbued with its lo- 
exercise it onlv ov- 
not made in the britrht 

But when man I 
to usurp d'Mi 
weaker and i 
dition of tho , 
total! V «: v tho , 

creature tl. 

to the .same r\^ .^ his . 
dition was the effect of i^roM i: 
oppression. This pr-l-i • ! •' •> ■ 
the oppre.Hsed and o|.^-. 
lence and crime through a.i umo, and cr 



a 



• i i»(i power which 
ac, and to a dominion 



Mi, it a 

lo me very 

n and 

Maker to 

• 



»n. 



n 

r< the 

to the con« 

not 

•J tho -'al 

d 

V mnn and that hia con* 

e and i^inding 

f ^'ff.. between 

i*». o of ▼io- 

! the desire 



IIIC llUlltU' 



and stimulated the action of thoac in puwcr to prevent, 
aa far as possible, all examinn' ' 'hta of man 

as established by his Creator. 

The exercise of '■ ion be^at th« >f ease and 

opulence. This couiii more r- 

printing to his own use the labor of others without any 
just compensation th. is the love of money, the 

root of all evil, grew and ex I In our own time 

and day, those princi; .lur : s intended to 

subdue and eradicate, if j ,e, in the formation of a 

Constitution founded upon the natural and inalienable 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 217 

rights of man, have si^routed afresh, with a luxuriance 
which is calculated to fill the mind of the just and good 
with deep and solemn reflection. 

I have heard it stated by a sagacious statesman of our 
own country, that it was one of the unchanged and 
unchangeable laws of Providence, that one man should 
live upon the labor of another, that this always had and 
always would be the case, and that American slavery^ as it 
existed in the Southern States, was the best human modification 
of that unalterable decree. This was the language of a 
Southern gentleman, from a slaveholding State. The 
practical operation of this despotic system, of man as an 
individual usurping dominion over man, and endeavoring 
to live U2)on the labor of others, began in our country with 
the slaveholders, and its ramifications are now seen and 
felt in all parts of our country. The desire to live upon 
the unrequited labor of others, is acquiring a dreadful 
universality. It is the slaveholding power, — this Goliath 
of all monopolies, — that now brandishes his spear and 
threatens the overthrow of our most essential rights, and 
the most sacred of all our privileges. It defies even the 
Constitution itself, to engage in single combat. It claims 
to be before and superior to that instrument, which it 
contends has acknowledged its superiority, and has guar- 
anteed its existence and perpetual duration. It impe- 
riously asserts that it has converted men into property ; 
and, as a mutter of course, any person, when he becomes 
a CITIZEN of the United States, has a right to the enjoy- 
ment and use of this species of property, in each and 
every State in the Union. It is upon this false position, 
that a person can be converted by law into a thing, that 
slavery rests its whole claim — a position at war with the 
Constitution of the United States, and which ought not 
to be sustained in our courts of justice. It is jjrovidcd in 
the fourth article of the amendments to the Constitution, 
that the right of the people to be secure in their persons 
19 



flS LIFE OK bE.NATOE MORRIS. 

against unwurra iiol ' lattd: aD*! 

that warrants wht-n 1 

the PERSONS or TiiiNtiH lo l>o • I "^t, ilun, as 

the settled cunviction of mv •»wn min'l. that «>nr ^ of 

justice can not rij^i ^ ti » > av© ia 

property, becai'se he in wot a TUi?((i. and ^ , • riy con- 
sists in things o.nly. That b^ Tnnv hr« rlainivd aa o^...^ 
labor or »crvic« to another, 'I- *•"' * ••nflnna 

the argument. 

If the free States aiicuu lu ii x- ^ 

negjo slavery, and all it« .luui *^ • muBl 

not permit tliat v a to i ' ita 

Constitu i- 

ries. If II laii i : tu • 1*. ii Mill be 

lilco the unt Itaiii —it will 

make war upon an<i • ' oppoaaa 

its onward march. Jt w all i 

tutionnl hnrriern whuit may : f^hall b« 

br(»ken down and ■ i; w. e to alar 

its fury, or a| ita ra^. or apatn t to < 

tutional limits; and the < 

entire liberties will he : :ind p 

pensities of the slave:. . n^ system, whirh f hav© but 
faintly attempted to deiK-rilH*. ar«« »>■ *»* nf 

imagination. I draw on —^-r r».... .. ^ - .♦ ;.... ;.., ;* 

"Who in our country* jo^i;•lva slav.— * '-• • — ihc war of 
the Kevolution? No one, who was i* uim;j tu defend hia 
country from the grasp of the oppresiior. or shed his blood 
in defense of her lil)ertiea. Who jv ' I the practic«. or 
contended for its per] ' i.. ai the < lose of that 

memorable contest? :\..i a t <»f that 

day. Did any one attenjpi i« make its chains more 
strong, or bind its victims m v, or enlarge ita 

bordcrb by any Conhtitutionul ) Xo. not . 

Slavery at that day wuh di nl lo the prin- 

ciples of American lib«*rtv. that nons were found to ren- 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 219 

der it so much respect as to insert its name, or even the 
word "slave," in the Constitution. 

All then looked for and desired the speedy downfall of 
the entire system ; and Congress proceeded to iix limits 
to its power, and rebuke its practice upon every j/ossible 
occasion, as in the ordinance in the year 1787, for the 
government of the ]^orth-Western Territory, and in sub- 
sequent acts passed after the adoption of the Constitution. 

But slavery flattered the pride of man, because it 
enabled him to extend his legitimate dominion beyond its 
just and rightful landmarks. It gratified his cupidity by 
increasing the means of enjoyment. It was adhered to, 
not as a political, but as an individual claim, and was left 
subject to the power of the laws ; and in that day, like 
all other subjects, it was freely discussed at all times and 
in all places without fear or restraint. But what is the 
condition of the country now? Slaves have increased 
vastly in number, and the power of the slaveholder in 
equal degree. The acquisition of Louisiana gave new 
impulse to this power; but it was never practicall}^ 
demonstrated until the application by ^Missouri to be 
admitted into the Union. It was on this occasion that 
the first triumph was obtained on the floor of Con^-ress, 
by the slaveholding power, over the Constitution of the 
United States, as well as of that of Missouri. 

The people of Missouri formed for themselves a Consti- 
tution, in which they had given their Legislature full 
authority to prohibit the introduction of any slave into 
that State, for the purpose of speculation, or as an article 
of trade or merchandise. When she presented herself for 
admission into the Union, the slaveholding power in Con- 
gress objected to the exercise of this authority remaining 
with her Legislators ; and the final compromise was not 
to compel Missouri to change her Constitution, but that 
her Legislature, by a solemn public act, to be made in 
pursuance of a resolution of Congress, should provide and 



220 LIFE or ^KNATOl MomRtt. 

declare that the beforc-in«"tir.ri. H |irovi«:'r.n in her Con- 
stitution shouhl never bo *..-v. »c<i t'. riK4« tho pas- 
eage of any law, an<l that no law ^. -....; Ih «I in 

conformity thereto, by which any *''■' *" •■* . i the 

Stateg of this Union should bo e.\ u luu enjoy- 

ment of any of the privilopes and iiuiiiu: to mhich 

Buch (i: of ih© 

United MaUv*. liitft < icr one 

of the darkest i in Ihc ugh 

6u]>mitted to by the ] of ' \y 

rebuked by thrm at that m 

step to pi: ry under t i- 

tution which w. y of 

liberty. It ; tho y :U 

man may l>e made y or 

State ha.H a rii^'ht to mak«» :n if a itlare, 

to use him in tr » to sell . ;n anv Stale 

in which slavery exifita for the purpoeo of «t • . . u, 
and that such State ha« no power *'• r>r ... .: the aale. 
This to my mind in a !"'■""»''•"!•' »"- "d at open 

variance with every pi-.*-. ■. -i ** v .i.- .iwii»n, immo- 
laled, in tins com pro t'- on the altAr of ••' • -v 

The nlavcholdin^ jj^xcr having t' =^ i a fuoi- 

hold on the ramparts f»f the C- :.v a violation 

of its spirit and itn letter, r lltat vi u at 

evidence of the ripht itMdf. aini i aaeertu iiiat the 

Constitution re< unc of the in**titution8 

of the country, and that the right of the ulav- r to 

bis slave is derived from that in^trunu nt. It is here 
the question must be nu-t. and d* I . arrojraiice 

of the slaveholdins: power, in trni ^ «lown the right 

of petition, and denying the fr. <if d aw only 

consequences resultintr from tl power, 

and is a foretaste of what we may exT>.< t. wh«'n it -hall 
have completely established it<»olf ...I it i . d 

to do so), within the provisions of the ronstilution. That 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 221 

instrument will then be no longer what it now is, the 
home of Liberty. It will be made its grave. This is the 
first great and combined interest in this country which 
strikes at equal rights ; but all other special and local 
interests have the same tendency, when they claim pecu- 
liar or exclusive privileges. 

The monied interest is next to be feared, and whenever 
that or any other shall have acquired sufiicient strength, 
to induce or influence Congress to legislate for its special 
benefit, there will be an end to that equality of rights 
which the Constitution designed to establish for the 
benefit of all. 

That our liberties are assailed, and individual as well 
as political rights disregarded by men in high places of 
power, none I think, will presume to deny; but that the 
Union or the Constitution are yet so far endangered as to 
create despondency, I can by no means admit. The 
unnatural matter which slavery is attempting to engraft 
upon the Constitution, will soon be blown off by the 
breath of popular opinion. The remedy for all evils in 
the system or administration of our Government is in the 
hands of the people, and free discussion — discussion 
without fear of the pistol of the duellist, the knife of the 
assassin, the faggot of the incendiary, or the still more 
dangerous fury of the unbridled mob — that free discus- 
sion which the people inust and iviU have, soon will work 
out an effectual cure. It is not in the nature of man, to 
remain forever deprived of his rights in a country like 
our own. 

But free discussion must be practised to produce its 
salutary effects. You and your fellow-citizens of Philadel- 
phia have set a noble example. Though the sectarian and 
bigot may exclude you from his sanctuar}-, and the cring- 
ing sycophant to power may shut you out from the Halls 
erected at your expense, and consecrated to justice, yet 
you are not discouraged but have again erected your own 



J22 LIF« OP ftr!«ATOR Moimt. 

Hall for a noble purpo«o — for th^ .....1-.^.. f.f fl.i^t free dU- 
cussion, without which - ' - -^nd lib- 
erty and i * M uic. 11 ndj of 
equal rigl»u cvcrywnere. on ih ' »rt. I 
trust it« influence will be productive ui luucn j^u-ou lo the 
human race. I ' it it i ' and 
dei^ccnd the valii-v vi ll*e Y n 
shall have rt- the ] itie 
rei^ni of ri It w ana nt»t iiil then, 
that the value and m <* mat- 
ter will be duly :•■ be 
considi-: i^^at fthe ie, 
in reality, the K h. mc aek of 

OUR POLITICAL SAFFTT 

With ^Tcai : 1 am 

Vour ' iM?rvant 

TlluJiAS M« 

JosFPH M. Triman. Wm. H. N«'TT. Wh McKi r 
Samuel Wtnu— ' <'. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 223 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Retirement from the Senate — Return to Ohio — Addresses a large meet- 
ing in Cincinnati — Applauded by the Democracy — Activity in the 
cause — An address to the Liberty Party — Nominated for Vice-President 
— Letter on that subject — Attends the State Liberty Convention — His 
Address. 

The 4th of March, 1839, closed his official responsibili- 
ties as Senator of the United States ; but he went forth 
into a wider field of action and usefulness. Returning to 
Ohio, and his home, with the armor of Liberty on, he 
re-entered the contest, and until the day of his death 
fought as a veteran in the army of freedom. 

•♦ His sword vras in his hand, 
Still warm with recent fight. 
Ready, that moment, at command 
Through rock and steel to smite ! " 



The 7th of May, 1839, finds him in the citv of Cincin- 
nati, before a large meeting of his fellow-citizens, the 
unconquered friend of freedom, the inveterate enemy of 
slavery. That meeting is described by Dr. Bailey, the 
present accomplished editor of the National Era, then 
editor of the Cincinnati Herald, as follows : 

" Ex-Senator Morris holds a court-house meeting, in 
which he exposes the fearful inroads of the slave power 
on the liberties of the nation, vindicates Abolitionists, 
defends his own course, as a Senator, on slavery, and 
insists on the duty of every citizen in the free States, 
solemnly to engage in lawful efforts for the abolition of 
slavery. 



22t LIFE OF 8ESAT0E MOlBIf. 

"The court-honso wait %vell L-. • 

the evening till some tin"' naai 10 o U 

like to report the whole ^' part y ih , ..ris 

of it which were most a: '' - • ^ can not. A 

majority of the Abolitioui^i- ■ . . v knew nothing of 

the meeting till it waa over. Of. '^ ' ' . ^•r „ 

of those present, w:. ' p-iiu. ^1 

friends. 

"The ■ ' 

many token.'i oi" hvii viiu- 

peration in any part ot li — n '-1 ' rii 

ha.s u J 

force and cleani- that the mind 

ciatcs and 1*:.. : bi« 

over his party i« to h« 
and inii:. 
fcctlv calm, and 

80 mueh strength in the % . . ;; ;i 

tone of deep sincerity in event* he t; tliat ho 

never loses the attention of hU n . . . 

"It is a fact, wortliy .ft .l^r n that the bold- 

est pa'--"""«« in Mr. M*; . '' '^ . atii**^'' '» »enti- 

mentt" "..uh Al- ^ '' • i..v.. -, an a i--*. , hav© 

not generally inn^icu ua, were i'rc(.i.M?ly the parta most 
cordially applauded. 

" Wliile eoinmen! ' »,i luc .>crviic iiiii, 

and the ' ' y ol Uie L e to the dicta- 

tion of Ivcuuicky, hih t n ul ila ( t waa 

promptly echoed by h 11,- tlun al to tho 

fact, that he had. perhaps. . it in the 1. 

turc, for a longer period than an en in th e. and 

remarked, that had such an en \ as waa comi 1 

by Kentucky last winter, been sent to Columbus at any 
time when ho was a member of tho . e body, he 

could have secured members . i and would have 

done it, to have committed th- ;en to \ 1 



t. 


1 


ro 


i« 


. 


. '.k 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 225 

On which the people, wrought up to a pitch of high indig- 
nation at foreign dictation, made the house ring with 
applause. 

" On the subject of the recovery of fugitive slaves, ho 
begged leave to throw out a suggestion. It might startle 
them ; but he must express his opinion frankly — others 
had a right to think for themselves. And he would be 
happy to discuss the point with any Constitutional lawyer 
in Cincinnati, the suggestion " That Ohio, under the 
Federal Constitution, was not bound to deliver up 
RUNAWAY SLAVES." Loud cheering followcd this remark; 
and, be it remembered, Abolitionists were but a small 
portion of the meeting. The a23plause came chmfly 
from citizens uncommitted to Abolition — most of them 
Democrats. 

"Another remark much applauded, was, that so far 
from passing laws to enable a slaveholder to re-capture 
men and women, whom he called his slaves, in Ohio, he 
w^ould be in favor of the passage of a law, punishing 
severely, every person, who, for a pitiful reward, would in 
any way aid in the capture of a slave. 

" If we mistake not, slaveholders will yet have cause to 
repent that they ousted Thomas Morris from office, and 
thus furnished him leisure for advocating more exten- 
sively and effectively Anti-slavery doctrines and measures. 
Mr. Morris has energy and influence enough to work a 
great change in his party." 

He became identified with the Liberty party, and 
labored for its efficient organization and success. In the 
summer of 1843, he issued to the friends of Constitutional 
liberty, in Hamilton county, the following address : 

Pellow-Citizens : — At a late meetinc: of the friends of 
Liberty, in Cincinnati, the undersigned was appointed a 
Committee to address you, and urge the necessity of more 
prompt and efficient action on your part, in the cause in 



226 LIFE or nTnAro% imiiiiii. 

whifh vou are ei " n. th« 

friends of slavery hen- :\ wHi t^\ lu »I«rj«»ion 

(and pn.hably with too : i all your ir<>(<^ 

mions of love f«»r liberty. 

It is necessarN n'>\r. that one f^iond 

of lihcrt uM I and ' d to 

the work, and do all in h»« pownr t.i a) .« d, 

the deplonihh*. and rxi nf •• . ur 

country. TlnTe 18 bat on*» 'wnr hv v .:. l.iw 

ftilly be done ; anr! thn* :« * 

Tlie prineipal . :»d«r«d 

m. and flow from • '• ?»»^d < ..... :ain of 

ela^rrj* ; and the r .-, -Nve |>. .... ha« become 

omnipotent. It - .i.? the * -^ of ihe pr--^- and 

thim it keeps mu»i'iis of tV ■.:, r%-~ • our }>rufee- 

eedly free land, in then ' \ . i- _^ 

making one portion of r 

No j>er«»on enn enj<.y * ..Jed 

to be 8ecure<l. bv the • r m held 

in f»lnverv. It is a v in 

the corner stone of our r- 

Xo ! it is more like a pile of i. a heap of 

putrid, rotten dust, blown ^ own elfcr%*' 'o 

the eyes of our fellow It 

is an eating^ fanr«*r - at tb»» V4*ry vifaU of . tjr 

republican ii. i •» 

breathes through our C" J 

destroy it, or slaver}* will .. ' nnd destroy that 
Bpirit. Then. indee<l. ...' rmr r, , n institntinnn 

become rotten and corrupt ;. ...very. 

Tliere is nomistakiT'" ♦^<" -■•" ■« of thetim- i i.« •*!*▼• 

power, itself is in po;- , . i all the imjH : v.,ni stations 

of the country. It .iuL-id all onr council* and State 
affairs ; the ballot box. itself is controlled by it ; the preet 
and the pulpit are trampled upon by it ; while ever}* prin- 
ciple ofjusticf and maraHty, u ifs $rnf and gram It hai 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 227 

eaten out our substance, and brought upon us pecuniary 
embarrassment and public disgrace. Can such a system 
continue forever. If it can, then indeed are our declara- 
tions, that Justice, Liberty and Union, are established 
among us, idle words, vain and illusory ; calculated 
only to deceive and destroy. 

JSTo ! this can not be. There is yet vitality enough in 
the country to restore the Government to healthy action ; 
and this too, in spite of the contending political parties, 
in our State, who are sacrificing all their professed prin- 
ciples on the altar of slavery, and striving with each other, 
who shall be its most humble apologists. It is admitted 
that Liberty men now hold the balance of power between 
them, and are constantly on the increase. AYe say to 
them in a political view, " Ye are the salt of the earth, 
Y'e are the light of the world." Y^ou now stand conspic- 
uous before the nation and the world ; and a high and 
important duty is required of you. Redeem the ballot box 
from the power of slavery. This you most assuredly will do 
if you vote right. Sink not your individuality into clan- 
ship. Believe not the man who tells you, he is opposed 
to slavery as much as you, and yet votes for a slave- 
dealer, or the advocate of slavery, to fill the official sta- 
tions in our country. Remember, " you can not serve two 
masters ;" you can not be the friend of slavery and the 
friend of freedom. Whence come the oppression and 
depression of your country and its affairs ? The hard 
times and the want of credit and confidence. Does all this 
come by too much liberty, or too much slavery? Answer 
this to your judgment, your conscience, and your country. 

Recollect, we beseech you, that a Liberty Convention 
is to be held at Mount Pleasant, in this county, on Tues- 
day, the first day of August next ; a day and a month 
made memorable in the annals of time, by the emancipa- 
tion of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of the human 
family from the thraldom of slavery, in the West India 



22S LIFE OF SENATOR MORBIt. 

Islands. We implore, then, or • -- ! rV to be •^---'^t at 
that Convention; and wo ean in»it«all «... ...ifor 

from U8 in this matter to come, near and jadjfe ua ; and 
if they believe we are \v arraitrn u« at the bar of 

public opinion. We fear iiol the »•• ruliny into 

all we say. and all we do. 

We are always ready to make k i our • ! 

teftt our j>rin( '' "'l 

circumrttan* I ho < 

us and exti; > the hav« 

no other hope of ul* r u«. but by cover- 

in^ us with darkn- • ' 'Bi 

and trim your fn ' r?* 

that you intend to live up to l- . ; pro- 

fess — Justice and Liberty to All » a 

ticket for yoursclve* to bo Tot^d iho eoaainc n I 

composed of men who have not the brand of »laver)' on 
their foreheads, or upon their fle«h, nor lovp -^ '-^rxvery in 
their hearts; and whon« aouls are r * " • ! and 

almost dried up by the blaitting *" ^' ku* j«i-'»noui 

breath of that - ' 'u. Come, ana swear >>n the altar of 
your oountr} 'h iUu rty. lliat you will uniformly and con- 
stantly hereafter attend the j :' " ' »ns, and 
vote to sustain liberty. 1 h«»w 

This earnest ad<lress. br<»ught a large Conv- . and 

the name of Thomas M-.rria waa placed on the J*iberty 
ticket as Stale Senator. He who had for twentv-five 
years been elected by trium: to the Legis- 

lature by the Otinoeratic party, in CUrmont county, now 
entered the political fi.'ld for f :a. 

On the 31st of July. c Na. Anti Slavery 

Convention was held in the city of Albany. N««w York, 
the object of which, was "the thorou^jh of 

tliose great principles, which lie at the luundation of the 
Abolition enterprise throughout tho riviliRcd world ; and 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 229 

of the measures which are suited to its accomplishment 
in the United States, and especial!}^ those which relate to 
the right of suffrage by the citizens of the free States." 
Mr. Morris having been but a few months from his seat 
in the Senate, was invited to attend. He sent the follow- 
ing answer to the Convention. 

Cincinnati, July 22, 1839. 

It was my intention to have been with you at the 
National Anti-Slavery Convention, at Albany on the 31st 
inst., and I had made preparations to leave here, for that 
purpose on this morning ; but the state of my health and 
domestic affairs have prevented me. 

I rejoice, however, that the abolition of slavery through- 
out the civilized world, is no longer jDroblematical. It 
seems to be almost universally conceded, that this stuj^en- 
dous fraud upon a portion of the human race, is fast 
issuing to a close ; and the great question truly with us is, 
what measures are best to accomplish this desired result in 
the United States. In our otherwise free and favored 
country, slavery seems to have erected its strongest hold, 
and is not only striving to govern the councils of the 
country, the press, and the i)ulpit, but even mind itself, 
is attempted to be made. 

It is true, they are yet in the minority ; but, if I am 
not mistaken, in every age and country of the world, in 
which men have been compelled, by opj^ression, to strike 
for fVeedom, they have been at first but few in number and 
a persecuted race. But where they have been sincere, 
making truth and justice their guide, success has been, 
universally, the final result of their efforts. 

With us the slave has no power of action ; nor can we 
consent that his freedom shall be purchased by his own 
arm. A merciful Providence, in order to prevent such a 
dreadful catastrophe has brought to his rescue, and united 
for his deliverance, the warmest hearts and soundest 



230 LIFE OF iBJIATOR 3ilO»«|». 

heads of the nation , an«l th'-y ] t to fho world the 

new and choerin;; j»lirn< r>. of men • .n^ all tho 

blessings of liberty tliomvrl-. t willinir to devote 

their time, their i;. - r« for iho 

oppressed and duvrntrodden i»lav<* *■ urml rif^hta to 

\vliich he is entitled, and which, * ..arten uf free- 
dom, we promise to all men. The moral |K>wer of such 
men is snfttcient for thin work. ^ "* '^lal moral power mu^t 
operate by means to make it • ^ /' * <iV ochon m 
lUccsAitry to j ' /V md thai 

action^ tritk u*, cuh < Mtfk fAe 

Ballot Ii>x. And su> -r U u»fd for a 

more nohU y i in re$turt ami arcirre to mmy Man^ Ait 

xnaUcuahU rt-jtitg. It i'. a 

man can Imj in favor o! j ^^■<*0*i 

and yet be a friend to the p. our ' at. 

If the IJailoi Hnx. tl»en, i« •\y 

used, it alone will ^oon j it of 

•blaverv in our cuuntrv. 

1 am able to sav to r .to ti> ^v- 

oring to restore i to his lon^ 1 . *, te, that, in 

the West, the cauiM of i: . . . ,m is onward. Jicn speak, aa 
well a.s think, on the 8ti>>i> > r Mind is !"'*-f>>> ' it>iti.l. und 
mutual contidenee and i... ...*1 ^•■' '--■rt w... .., ;..v . ;'♦ 

1 sincerely re^et I was deniii Uic p! ■'••re of luv i.n^ 
the friends of libert}- in Conventional Aioauyi bat tliere 
is much to do here, and I find ' r in my p«>wer, to 
comj>ly with the numerous inv '.oatlond raeetingt 

iu ditVerent part« of my own .Suae. I ;d8 

of the slave are scattered thr y, 

yet they seem to be actuated by t J his 

I trust, will afturd motives to perseverance and g^ive 
encouragement to all. 

I um, with respect. 

Your obedient servant, 

Thomas Morris. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 231 

The 28th of December, 1842, found him in the CajDital 

of Ohio, a member of the State Liberty Convention. 

Through Mr. Morris, the Convention requested the use 

of the Hall of the Legislature then in session, for its 

sittings. The request was virtually denied by its being 

postponed to the second Tuesday of October. He whose 

voice had rung in that same Hall, for twenty -four years, 

as a Democratic Eepresentative, was refused the privilege 

of holding a Convention in it, to favor the true doctrines 

of Democracy, and to resist the aggressions of slavery ! 

The Convention met in the Second Presbyterian church. 

Li that Convention, Mr. Morris was prominent. A 

brief sketch is preserved of his address. He quoted the 

remark of Coleridge— " It is a profound question to 

answer, why it is that, since the sixteenth century, the 

Reformatian has not advanced one step in Europe." He 

showed the reason to be, that Luther contended for truth 

and principles, and not for a mere sect, and that his 

followers had labored for sect more than for principle. 

In reference to the subserviency of the two great 
parties of the country to slavery, he said — ''Both parties 
are very subservient." " The Democrats," said he, " hold 
the truth in unrighteousness.'' Petitions are received as a 
matter of courtesy, in the Legislative Halls of Ohio ; the 
right of petition is not acknowledged at all. He said that, 
in the Democratic proscriptive Convention of 1840 (the 
one in which he was cut off as a rotten branch), it was 
stated that no Democrat could be an Abolitionist. He 
would reverse the proposition, and say — ''Every Demo- 
crat must be an Abolitionist." 

At another point in the deliberations of the Convention, 
he made some very extended remarks, of which a brief 
sketch is subjoined. 

Mr. Morris said, the American people were responsible 
for slaveholding under :N'ational legislation. He did not 
believe there was any warrant for such legislation in the 



232 LIKE Ol REX A TOE MORRIS. 

Constitution ; he wa** sure thrrr • nr tn thr mrrrrit eodt, 

tchUh xcat (U the '* • ...A,/|,^ /./^ /•// H :!«! not 

asftcnt to the m«'i.-v."U« pr .. >\ hat the Imw 

makes property i» pn^pcrt^ . IK did n ■♦ ^"liev© r »lRve 

could breathe in Ohio. A ^ hn-. i-* »orTicc in 

another Stale. f?»cftpintr into thia. lui^ul be r ^ 'med Ra Rn 
esenpinij servant — not ' 'c of t ^ not rr 

a siavo. Sueh a ] ., ui Ui.w, 1= >t that 

anv other i i*> r« *• 

lion. He said, n '''•» 

condition. He > — 

Thai makrt a nuui % fUrt, imkM ^%'^ v: »«.« " 

It takes all his away. He he said, 

blame the slave for d- nor © 

tlioso who aided ti ' « • : 'i ; • aa 

criminal.", wa.i to offen«l <x»! ml «- nnn-n jus- 

tice. If sla%*er}' is rif^ht. it i« to aid in sending; back 

the fugitive — not othertr; * liv W"»'^^ '«** «aid, mako 
Ohio a free Stale in reality. He wou.-. the great 

principles of liberty proclaimed in the < ' n. He 

would have no State ■ "'' - or State n aie deae- 

cratinij his oftiee, by prtjM:;uiiii^ it to the purjKMea of the 
nlaveholder. He . ' i the wavering an*! unnta- 

blc conduct of the uU*ir p<trlK>ji ; on the r " of the 
Fugitive Bill of Ohio ; on th of the • of one 

of the greatest slave-marts in thr world, at ih*.* »Scal of 
Governiuent . on the slave r of twenty-five 

mcmben* in ( - ; on the « d 

energy of the slave jK)wer ; on the n- t on 

foot and carried on, for the pur of exte; the 

market for slave laV>ur j.r t of all 

effort to extend the markets for free labor; on the sinking 
of three or four hundred millions of the earnings of free 
labor in the gulf of blaveholding bankru|>tr3'. He said, 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 233 

that slavery had literally eaten up the Banks, and, like 
Pharaoh's lean cattle, had devoured the prosj^erity of 
others, without promoting their own. 

During the meeting of this Convention, Mr. Morris 
rose and said, that he had been honored, by a Convention 
which met in ISJ'ew York, in May, 18-il, with a nomination 
for the Yice-Presidency. He felt it to be a very high 
honor. He prized that mark of confidence beyond any 
office which either of the other parties could bestow 
But when the nomination was made, the Liberty -Party 
was imperfectly organized, and much smaller than at 
present. He had, therefore, delayed the acceptance of 
the nomination ; and now, in view of the rapid progress 
of the Party, and of future unanimity of action, he had 
come to the conclusion to decline it, in order that another 
Convention, representing the greater numbers which now 
compose and are continually joining the Liberty Party, 
might have an opportunity to act upon it. 

Mr. Morris retired ; and the Convention unanimously 
declared by a resolution, that we "do cordially approve 
the course pursued by that veteran and consistent friend 
of liberty; and invite the Liberty Men of the LTnited 
States to meet in Convention at Buffalo, on the 28th day 
of June, 1843." 



20 



234 LIFK O* pi.VATOl MOEEI*. 



ClIATTKR XIX. 

RKArrrRt of ! « — « mo«; 

Readjastmentot ^'^^ ! 

Upj toil— 



•I 



t 



■cul ir 

5„ r.. n >; 

Mr ' w — Hl» 

T.inoii tb« do*. T«— .Report of 

Julp* .Smiih in I \U"f ' -Mr * »u 
ITj-lj lo it. 

The Kecapturo of fb^itivo aln ^ n lo the 

BVBtem of Americmn iiU%'crv n ; . ' intercut and 

agitation both North and ^ • *^ ?^»-<> human 

being*, and have 1 - -• -' for i Aim- ...ingtpark, 

not extinpuishod. ivca lu •' m ut lh« bondman of the 
South, has led tli ' ui »»iave<i. to M?ek delircranc« 

from slaverv. and tlio M ' ' ' >• 

of the most • and 

are those that romrd tlio «i 
Blavos to osijipo fn'm b <v I hoir t> 

dav8. would have soiurc<i tlicm n 
talizod their names. 

In tlie ortrainzation of the < t. a pr« 

inserted in the < it '•> 

service or hibor in one State, under the laws thereof, 
escapinc^ into an(»ther State, •hnll. in 0'»n*««<i!ience of any 
law or rei:jii hit ion therein, he . ««ueh service 

and labor ; but shall be delivered up on claim of the 
party to wlwjm such service or labor niav Ik? due." 

This was a compromise hetwom the North and the 



'« iu : 


V, 




of 


11. in 


rit 


ai. 1 


r- 


>ro 


waa 
d to 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 235 

South, in order that the Union might be formed, and the 
Government go into harmonious operation. This Consti- 
tutional provision was a temporary sacrifice of rights, for 
the purpose of adjusting the interests of all sections of 
country. The North and South expected, and desired, 
the speedy extinction of slavery, and its extension into 
new territory, was not contemplated by the framers of 
the Constitution. Hence it was agreed, that the South 
would not attempt to carry slavery into new Territories, 
and the North would extend a certain degree of protec- 
tion to the interests of the South, by allowing the recovery 
of fugitive slaves in the Free States. 

This provision, however, in the course of time, was 
found inadequate for the slave interests of the South. 
The growing sentiments of the country against the evils 
of slavery, and the growing sentiments of freedom among 
a large number of slaves, Avho, by increasing numbers 
escaped, made the property of human chattels, more and 
more insecure. A new surrender must be made on the 
part of the North. 

In a new adjustment of political aifairs, in 1850, when 
California was admitted into the Union, a Fugitive Slave 
Bill w^as passed by Congress, far more stringent and 
oppressive than any previous legislation. This Bill, in 
the North, produced general dissatisfaction. 

It made every man a " slave catcher." ^^ All good citizens 
arelierehy commanded, to aid and assist in the prompt and 
efficient execution of this law, whenever their services 
may be required," and any attempt to aid a slave, directly 
or indirectly to escape, subjected the offender to a fine of 
$1000, and six months imprisonment. It also destroyed 
the right of trial by jury, by allowing the claimant of a 
slave to file his certificate before a Commissioner, and on 
that certificate the slave must be surrendered, in the face 
of " a process issued by any Court or Judge, Magis- 
trate or other person whomsoever." This feature of the 



23C I. IFF OF SENATOR lfORR|«. 

Bill, conflicts with the C- ••••:--- T the United SutM, 
where it declan-s that luv pn *" by the writ of 
Habeas Crpus. fihall not be »r, nnlcM when in 

cases of nhollion or inv Uio ' ^ mmy 

demand it ^ ui.ii is in 

direct cnnflirt wuh the - higiivr Uw ol <» hut 

declar $J)ttlt not Arlitrr ' , thr arrrami 

tr/iiV/i M etcap<d from hi* matirr w t thai 

Christian ! I ■ Ttktn 

should do unto y«»u d 

Thi^ 1:11 I th<» Uw of the 

nation. N -■' . 

ence. and on t!i«» l*^th • it r • « 

approval ot' I' . nt F. 

in Conirro'i**. and thmnrri^ mo«t n! !ifr 

been dih' • • -^. ' : ; ...>» <■>»•» :i to >• 

In Oi ., - ♦»•♦• Aw . . -»• Krie 

county. New Yoi >.. ji-iv^hI Mr. in »iv"5 wii the 

subject of slavery. Ho returned the i^'n-juinir answer: 

\,' » » • ' ^ ■ •^. 

Siu— Vou boiuil mv a* to the i 

tories : 

1st. Do you bvlieve that p< .« to 

subject of slavery and • 
rend, and : 
of the peopb'".' 

2nd. Arc you ■ -d to th«» anrifxation n( Tr.xiui to thi* 

Union, so lon^ij as Slav 

3d. Are you in favor of C ; all the 

Constitutional powoni it t>* internal 

slave trade between the ^ ^ ' 

ith. Are you in favor of immediatr- !.-Ti**lation f~.r the 
abolition of slavery in the District of L bia? 

I an.^wrr nil your interrogat <"-••••. in the affirmative. 

Millard Fillmori. 





• r. 


. 


•«. on the 


•hi lo 


i 



/ 

LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 237 

The present President of the United States, Mr. Pierce, 
on the 2d of January, 1852, expressed his opinions and 
feelings on the Fugitive Slave Bill as follows: "I have 
been asked if I like this Fugitive Slave Bill. I answer, 
Ko. I loatlie it. I have a most revolting feeling at giving 
up a slave. The law is opposed to moral right and 
humanity. Slavery is contrary to the Constitution, in 
some respects." 

iSTot only the [N'ational Legislature, but many of the free 
States, legislated for the recapture of fugitive slaves, giv- 
ing legal facilities to slave hunters, to arrest the fugitive 
in his pursuit of freedom. 

In this work Ohio, in her legislative capacity, was prom- 
inent. Kentucky was losing her human chattels, from 
their strong love of liberty. A large number of slaves, 
from year to year, made their escape, and passed through 
Ohio to Canada, their only safe city of refuge on the 
American Continent. 

To remedy this, the Legislature of Kentucky appointed 
a special embassy to the Legislature of Ohio. The embas- 
sadors, in the persons of Charles T. Morehead and John 
Speed Smith, entered upon the immediate execution of 
their mission, and arrived in Columbus, the capital of Ohio, 
on the 26th of January, 1839. They were received by the 
Legislature of Ohio with distinguished consideration, and 
by the citizens with princely attention and courtesy. 

In an address to the Legislature of Ohio, they entreated 
that body, by their love of the Union, and of the Consti- 
tution, and by every motive of patriotism, -to provide all 
needful enactments, to prevent e-vil disposed persons, who 
may shelter themselves within the jurisdiction or limits 
of Ohio, from enticing away the slaves of the citizens of 
Kentucky, or aiding, or assisting, or concealing them after 
they shall have reached the borders of that State ; and 
also, to pass an act, to provide more efficient and certain 
means for recapturing and bringing away absconding 



238 



LIFE OF BTSATOn MOttRlA. 



slaves, by their mn • --. or 



« t •..' f* i..i-»« 1 1 \ 



r V 



agents.' '*The conti 
ti' id fcelif! ' .1^ '-•' 

1 i.. <•<•::!; .in?'" 

than thirlN • 

« 

intf t«j Fiii:iti\ «.- ii'-iw 1.. 

which : 1 ou Uic 2 '» 

declared ti»at ** If any ; i, ur 

fihall coun.Hfl. :i or ci 

sons, w 

8er\'ice to an 

al i,or» 

or any oihor • 

labor, or 

evrrv I i 

c.\ up five . . 

jail of I lie County, not ex 

crction of the Court." An 

provision, that such j"»-- " 

imprij^onment in the !*■ 

the party ••*••-■' *" ■— • 

1 niB SUI'iiii-,-iL'u '_'i *_'iit 

roused the spirit of ir 

The law converted t . «.i i 

to fr ' I, into ah;. 

penal oiU-nso t- a lupoi 

bread to a poor, :^iiirvii 

It made huinanitv. and a < 



AUthorlMd 
in the jus- 



i 



An Act reUt- 

a 

lit I c% 

n or per- 

r or 



t not 

i in the 
fir* nTxtv dam, at the dis- 

..... *o In insi^rt A 

' to 



' ' lorn in Ohio. 



l<*r ~ aii*l niatlc ii a 

or » piece of 
• »n hii* way to fr n. 

. . • cr 



•• AIM for f'— ' ~ • :f stick fmiu 

Grow on ■ t cf \fr •ri»M I 

AIm for t 

Find CO bwc^i i . n h*>r Nf*^%«t. 

AIm ! ala« ! when yt, who r Uim • 

The ffTcat an<l generoo*. » ; imly fr««. 

Scoff at a brother, turn in i»--..m away. 

Because be w - ' • ^ker clay.*' 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 239 

Mr. Morris labored for the overthrow of these unjust 
laws, which, on account of their severity, were stigmatized 
as the Black Laws of Ohio ; and he lived to see them 
expunged from the statute-book of the State. 

On the rendition of fugitive slaves, Mr. Morris had 
thought 2)rofoundly, and anxiously. His views were often 
boldly expressed, in his public addresses, and in written 
opinions. The reader is presented with two papers on the 
subject of the Duties of the States in relation to Fugitives 
from. Labor. The first is as follows : 

Dr. Baily : In the Philanthropist of the 14th inst., (May 
1839,) you have given to the public, a statement of what 
you call •' another Court House Meeting," in which you 
suggest that " I advanced the idea, that Ohio, under 
the Federal Constitution, was not bound to deliver up 
runaway slaves." This, though correct in the main, does 
not so fully express what I said on that point as I could 
wish. I remarked, that the States as parties to the Fed- 
eral Compact were themselves judges of the time and 
manner for the performance of those duties which that 
contract required of each, for carrying on its operations. 
That the States respectively had reserved to themselves 
the power to protect, and also to prevent the abduction 
of any person within their jurisdiction, and from being 
transported out of the State, without the assent of such 
State in pursuance of her own laws. That the hiw of 
Congress of the 12th of February, 1793, providing, that 
persons escaping from the service of their masters in one 
" State, and being found in another State, shall be arrested 
and delivered to the claimants, w^as unconstitutional; and 
in violation of the reserved rights and sovereignty of the 
States. 

That Ohio, nor no other State, was bound by the opera- 
tion or force of any foreign laws to deliver up any run- 
away slave or person escaping from the service of their 



240 



r.irr. or kenatoe Moiitt. 



master ; that the Stales were under a moral, CoulitatkMiml 
oblii^'ation to do ro, but that th-v \rero tbemselvca JQd|(M 
wlicn and how they would exi . lb'* nr.wer; that if the 

State should bo of opinion that t* ^ "f the power 

would tend to the destruction ».'. .. Ut.^^ ^U(j 

Bovercicjnty, or the di«tu^^-" "^ of luv i'UL.u«_ , or 

in fact to the detriment of ^ 'ic welfare .-ial« 

had the rii^ht. and it wouui lkj r ' - ♦ uch 

delivcrv ; that i' "it to 1 



I w© 



States cluimed t 

that wo did ii t an : 

or an ox, to be taken from 

our own laws, much 1 

taken, whom w»" a 

born free nnd 

we unqi. 

mode and 

of property. 1 

State ; and the i 

whom we can only know n 

iB shown, should bo pr 

showing must be in pui^. ...... 

thereto : 

That our State ou^ht to pr 
mation and tlelivery of rv. 
we onijht to r« . u»«' • 

with such la>\>, i i; I. I r 

I hatl advanced, mi^^lii. i 
dani^erous, but with what n 
bestow on tins «. :. m}* mind \v 

with their truth ; liowever, I 



of property; 

say a horM 

in pursuance of 

t a man to b« 

to be 

ate, 

• by law. the 

t" !»!»V t» 



_ r. th. , 
.. . e man until the contrary 

.t TiV Tifir l*^\r* rinrt that 

... . .;* vw...;.>rmity 



Uy ia»\ icr tuc rcola- 
! ' • ' and that 



•> 



bo I d Ucw at.ti 

u 1 haii Uvn able to 

rcMcd 
1 be in error, and 



would be extremely plad to meet any jjmtlcman in public 
discussion who thought : .t truth, an«l the safety 

and peace of the country alone was mv « 

I am .solicitous to understand the nature and power of 
Blavery in our country, and will add. at this time, one or 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 241 

two suggestions by way of inquiiy, Avhicli I hope somo 
gentleman will explain. I understand the slaveholders 
to say and insist, that the United States Government has 
no power whatever over their slaves ; that slavery is a 
peculiar institution of their OAvn States. The question 
then is, can a slave commit treason against the United 
States ? or can he be guilty of counterfeiting the current 
coin of the United States, or any other crime against 
the General Government ? If so, Congress can provide 
for their punishment, and thus interfere with the sys- 
tem of slavery in the States, and with the right of the 
master to his slave. Another question is, can Congress 
provide by law, in any possible case, for the enlistment of 
slaves into*' the service of the United States ? It seems to 
me that if slaves are subject to the power of Congress in 
any one of the foregoing cases, it must follow as a necess- 
ary consequence, that Congress have power over the whole 
slave system as it exists in the United States. 

Will you be so good as to obtain an answer from somo 
gentleman in whose candor and legal attainments you 
have confidence. Yours with respect, 

Thomas Morris. 

The second paper from the j^en of Mr. Morris, on the 
rendition of fugitives, is lengthy and elaborate. It is in 
answer to a Eeport made in the Legislature of Ohio, in 
1837, by Mr. Smith of Warren county. The Keport is as 
follows : 

The Standing Committee on the Judiciary^ to vhirh was referred 
the inemorial of sundry citizens of the county of C/ermont, 
praying the Legislature '''■to take into consideration the suhjcct 
of regidaiing in a more just and rjfctual manner^ the proof 
and tried in cases of fugitive slaves,^^ report — 
The memorialists, who are a numerous body of respect- 
able citizens of the county of Clcrmoul, roprobout that 
21 



p«aMd 


the l: 


nu 


IIK 


«* 


It 


- 


of It 




itii it 







in the 


I 





! to ^ 


M 



2\2 LIFE OF gF..VATOR MORRIi. 

the enforcement of the Acl of ( 

of February, M'Xi. »ij...n the I of 

from the f»er%'i<*e of their m 

pcrilmble mental an'l v 

victiinH. and of i»nM livandi 

and i»ntriotic ( . be « 

the Bpectaele.*' 

They complain that by virtue of the t •♦» of thai 

law, "Arai'fM J"'»v by the w»rmr.t nf n ^ ■• Ju»»tic<» of th« 
Peace, be e** . d to interiii -^ "«"' in»tter hr^xc 

much the •: -y h»v by Inter ;. 

ignoraneo. i-aiiiaui^. or pr«-ju'i:'-v , un-i iiM-y aitk of th6 

Legislature the p: f • U^ v. ,,v!v -^ r » it 

contemplated in tiu ' ' ui ihc I nite<i •«, 

and law of (* . . .. « I 

to the ripht oi ui i»ii«l 11 r 

courts. They aN'» uri:«- the ♦• «»ul of 

the handA of Ji of the I S 

the ability to ex »o liable 

to be abuM'd and ) 1 to t and 

the j>la(in^ it in the 1 

These views and .re urge<l and - i by 

various arguments. 

Your Committee hnvo t <n| to i^ive that • ! 

eration to the«K» rcj if». and the Mr>;um<nti» urired 

in their support, which the im|>ortane«; of the unbject and 
the respectability of the ineinoriaii*^-* «««-.m tn drrnnnd. 
Your Committee are aware, that i..^ i in 

tlic memorial are of a delieate chara*'-' * ... -. ; malelv 
for the cause of humanity, there has. !-.i -.me yean* pa*t, 
existed in the public mind a doi^ee of sensitivenetMi npon 
this subject, wholly unknown at any former period in the 
history- of Ohio. This is neither the time, nor the plaeo. 
to discuss the question as to the enusc of this exeiten * 
or who arc responsible for th- «; it e\ 

and its power nn<l intcnsitv are inii« li to Ik- reirrett. ! 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 243 

For that system of domestic slavery, prevalent in tlio 
Southern States of the Union, Ohio lias no community of 
feeling. It is here considered as a great evil, both moral 
and political ; one fraught with more portentous conse- 
quences to our existence as a nation than any other. The 
Constitution of our common country, however, recognizes 
the existence of this feature in our social system, and the 
relation of master and servant. Ohio became a constitu- 
ent member of the Union, with a full knowledge of the 
fact. Slavery was entailed upon our country during our 
Colonial state ; it existed at the formation of the Consti- 
tution ; it is a stain upon our I^ational escutcheon, which 
the existing Government did not create, and for which 
the present generation are perhaps not responsible. 

The formation of the Constitution of the United States 
was the result of compromise ; jarring interests and con- 
flicting claims were to be reconciled. Those States in 
which slavery existed, would not consent to the adoption 
of the Constitution, without a provision authorizing them 
to reclaim their slaves, who should escape from the ser- 
vice of their masters, and be found in a State where that 
relation did not exist. Hence, it was provided in the 
third clause of the second section of the fourth article of 
the Constitution of the United States, that — "No person 
held to service or labor in one State, under the laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of 
any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such 
service or labor ; but shall be delivered up on claim of 
the party, to whom such service or labor may be due.'' 
AYhatever may be our individual opinions as to the ques- 
tion of slavery, we hold it to be our duty as citizens of 
Ohio, as long as the Constitution remains unaltered, to 
adhere with the most rigid fidelity to this, as well as 
every other provision of that hallowed Inst rinu out. In 
these times of turmoil and excitement, nothing will (end 
more to our political safety than mutual furbearauce, and 



244 



LIFE or bENATOR MOBBIt. 



n in 



the 



an unwaverinir «lctoriii 
Union, to : t th« 

menibtTs. aii<l j ve wiiii 

of coin J »n which t 

Pursuant to the < 
reference ha.** iK-on hu«l < 
February. M'X\ ]> 
in^rftiL' 

Uk - ;" by tho 
**That when n 

St«te«, or in ■ . .. r of the Tern 
or south of the river Ohio, nmhr thr law* • 
escape into any c»thcr of the ^.. . 
person to whom such l«b<»r ■ '' "• ••--.* 

agent or attorney, is ' ^ • 

such fugitives from iai* -i, a 

any Ju ' f the Circuit • ' 

Slat- or Ix 

V : au« t.l a « 

sucli foir.uro or arrl♦^t - 

the 1 of su< h J 

oral test i moil V or 

Mat^i^lrato of any mi 

80 seized or ar: 

Territory frf»m whirh he or ^b•• fle«l. ov 

» 

to llie ]>erson clainii: n or her. it 



* '^r of the 

I iU • ■ V. 
ihe ] * 

.\ a.-* f-ru.' 

U to w l... h 
.. vof 



t>r lowti t 



ur y 



. ■ • ■ ■ t- 

r 

d — 

d 

on the North We«l 

the 

..,..\ I . .... bia 

irta of the United 
re any 

' -in 

t to 

rby 

by a 

'v, ih»i tiif i^^TBon 

(*f the State or 

e or labor 

U' the duty of 



_ 1 



such Jud«xe or Mairi^irali- to pive a *o thereof to 

such claimant, bis apent or attorney, wbif-h «hall l>e Miffi- 
cient warrant for removing the said f\: » labor, 

to the Slate or Territory fnjm w hirh he or she fled." 

Your Committee are of the opinion, that the power of 
legislatini;^ up«»n this subject was conferred u|>ou Con 
gress, that the general provisions of that act were made 
in pursuance of the Constitution, and constitute a part of 
the supreme law of the land. It is tnie, that it may well 
bo doubted, whether Congress under tlic Cunslilulioa, 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 245 

can confer any judicial power on a State officer; and should 
such power be attempted to be conferred, your Com- 
mittee are of opinion, that such officer might at his dis- 
cretion, decline its exercise ; and that the State of which 
he is an officer, might by Legislative enactment, prohibit 
its exercise. As Congress, however, have deemed it 
expedient to vest in the judicial officers of the State, 
where the claim is preferred, jurisdiction in this matter, 
it seems to your Committee, that it would be alike unwise, 
uncourteous, and impolitic, for the Legislature to pro- 
hibit its exercise ; unless the reason for a proceeding of 
that kind was exceedingly weighty. It would produce 
relations apparently unfriendly between the General and 
State Governments ; a state of things always to be dejDre- 
cated. The consequences would be, the vesting of the 
jurisdiction in matters of this kind, exclusively in the 
officers of the General Government. This, your Commit- 
tee believe, would be productive of great difficulty and 
inconvenience, not only to the claimant, but also to the 
person sought to be reclaimed. The remote distance at 
which these officers must reside from various sections of 
the State, would render it much easier for evil-disposed 
persons to kidnap the negro or mulatto, and take him 
beyond the limits of the State, without an}^ judicial 
investigation, than under our existing regulations : and it 
is not difficult to perceive, that in a majority of cases, it 
would be utterly impossible for the alleged fugitive to 
procure the attendance of witnesses to prove his freedom, 
at such a distance from his residence. 

In reference to that part of the memorial, which prays 
for the allowance of an appeal from the inferior magis- 
trates to the higher courts in these cases, your Committee 
would remark, that they are aware of the value of the 
right of appeal ; and were they satisfied of the existence 
of the power in the Legislatm-e to authorize a review of 
the proceedings before the inferior tribunal under proper 



210 



LIFE OF 8KHATOE MORRIS. 



I08trictions, it miirht 

But lliev belie. il uiiMir I. 

m 

Bivo cognizance < 

tlierein cnumerat*"! nii'l thi»t t. 

or appellate jui 

Le^iHlature to cnnfor this \ 

improjier, and thi: . .- unw 

The second <'^ >• < » ..f tK.- 
out of the han«l- 'i . 
trates, the ability to i a 
Tirtually anti<ipate*!. iuur 
any '' .nt al f tho powi 



y. 

li- 
ra 

J, 

.t« 

m 



an al 
r nf the n. 



en to the 
il in r 
An « 

•«, that i». takinr 

o. and citv m..^.. 

haa already been 

are not aware of 

rred by the act of 

««tna«ts and it 

. a li . '" t^ 

•n 

II- 

ul 

a- 

in our 

. arc 

in it 

\y ripe, 

e- 



Mt i* 



Conmv.-3 ujMiu J I Ciiy 

would be : ol t^v 

to the 

infli! . by •• in 

di'. I 

olhters ol e la : 

tion. 1 

law8, c to tho •, 

uri:«'nt niul inn 

ill lit at 

when the ft- _ 

liolding States are arrayed n^^n'n>it rach oilier, any 

further to fan the flame, or c ;... u. lo tho exiatiog 

excitement. Let it be our taak to pour oil upon the 
troubled waters, and restore that comity and kind ft-t ':• ' 
which should characterize the int« - - between bi-m 
States. If Judges of tho Sir . Luurt and Pr ' .U 
of tho Courta of Common 1 tho onlyjuaicial 

otticers of the Stale. auth«»ri/ .*o 

cases, many of the inconv ro 

alluded to, would exist : and wimicvcr may U? the lui-nta, 
respectability and integrity of A ite Judges in 

general, they are not usually t« Ayera. In rela- 

tion to city magistrates, your t'ommitt • uld remark, 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 247 

that they consider their jurisdiction in these cases, to have 
been virtually vested by the second section of the "Act 
to i^revent kidnapping," which provides " That no i)erson 
or persons shall in any manner attempt to carry out of 
this State, or knowingly be aiding in carrying out of this 
State, anj^ black or mulatto person, Avithout first taking 
such black or mulatto person, before some Judge or Justice 
of the Peace^ in the county where such black or mulatto 
person was taken, and there agreeably to the laws of the 
United States, establish by proof his or their property, in 
such black or mulatto person." Your Committee are 
desirous that not only every citizen of the State, but that 
every black and mulatto person, may be protected in 
those rights which are guaranteed by law ; but under our 
existing laws, administered by honest and intelligent 
officers, and with the habitual reverence of our commu- 
nity for order and law, with the benefit of the writ of 
habeas corpus ; we think there is a safe guarantee that the 
rights of the humblest individual, will be protected. 
Under these considerations, your Committee believe it 
would at this time be inexpedient to legislate on this 
subject, and ask to be discharged from the further 
consideration thereof. 

Mr. Morris, during the recess of Congress, in March, 
1837, answered Mr. Smith, as follows : 

Sir : In addressing this paper to you, I am in hopes 
that your standing and character in society, will attract to 
it public attention, and cause it to be more generally read 
and considered than it otherwise would be, and I confess 
I am not without hopes to induce you to enter into a con- 
troversy, on the important subject contained in your 
Eeport, and the Petition presented to the General Assem- 
bly, from a number of citizens of this county, praying the 
passage of an act for regulating in a more just and effect- 



248 LIFE or SEXATOE MORBIS. 

nal manner, the proof and •-'■* ' ^ r.,.,u\y,. , ^^^ ©f 



it i ' » i«-wr. 



which Hoi)ort ihift paper ' 

Termil me to a.H<»ure ■ ur prrsfmal n—^ 

political ch; r. I or -.-.'■ and luu 



important 



:ui a K . 



t 



a jn'lir<^. «*niii i « i** i' 

an<l ^vh.•l! • »! 

crrnin'Hi'^ aiii i »*»«i 

to be si: d to the - ti. In Una 

lii^ht do i view your T ha« 

tlie riu'lit to hold you r i to >«'U 

either their ai A or < 

The Hrst 1 have faUcn. is tha 

pri''Unipii>n tl.at a ^ in Ohio ii 

ho the nluve <»f : r !• the 

cf.te of your '. 
iRdirettiy the rv\ 
in the State U i . .». . 
want of iniv. _ .. in nth.-r nt 

in man; that ho ^4*" • *» f-*^ in oar .4 

Buhj.et to any ..», , .. w >r or ft*;-.- to 

anotlier. or is pi -i'liy. mn«»t j- - ^ •■ noma 

existing law, an well r. • ke pn-'i ui iu«- ia< i • 1 uwr - 

ship; while a bnite aiumai may \yc reclaimed by proving 

the latter fact only. But even it" 

escape from the ^rA'ice of ila r. la 

and he found in our own ' ! 

in pui-sii: four own la\%i». ^ 

sion to \vhich you arrive, that a 

or labor, in another Slate, and wli.» ni 

State, may be reclaimed by the 01 

only; th:it. in fact, our own I. lure have not iho 

power U) defend a tree person (and all are free here until 

the contrary is proven), from beiuLT arrt'»»l*Ml and < 

out of the Slate, or i>re8onling the nature of the proof to 





the 1 


*» fwr* 


"H in oor 

•r or ft*; 

. ^ V 



knima' 


1 
1 


dd 


thtr 


.>:.! 




. be r- 


• 


t 


iti th 






t«>und 


in t 





LIFE or SENATOR MORRIS. 249 

be made, and the Courts before which the trial shouhl be 
had, as well as the mode and manner of such trial — thus 
degrading the person below the brute, and subjecting him 
to be adjudged the property of another, in a sister State, 
by rules which I am conscious you would have spurned 
with indignation, as a judge, if any such attempt had been 
made upon you while on the bench, to determine the 
right of property in a horse or an ox. 

We have no measure to test proceedings of such a mon- 
strous character, but the standard wdiich the Creator has 
implanted in the breast of every man. And ought not we, 
who have not only this monitor, but all the light which 
Christianity and Philosophy can afford, feel humbled at 
the very mention of doctrines, such as are contained in 
your Report ; and if we acknowledge their correctness by 
practice, to put our hands upon our mouths, and our mouths 
in the dust, and plead guilty before the Judge of all the 
earth. " Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord, 
find shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as 
this." 

You state that the committee were aware that the topics 
discussed in the memorial are of a delicate character, and 
" unfortunately for the cause of humanity, there has, for 
some years existed in the public mind, a degree of sensi- 
tiveness on this subject, wholly unknown at any former 
period in the history of Ohio." I confess I almost doubted 
the evidence of my own senses on first reading this para- 
graph. What are the topics discussed ? Personal Rights ! 
the right of every human being as secured to him by the 
Constitution of Ohio ; the mode and manner of trial when 
a claim is laid to a man as property ; when found within 
our own jurisdiction ; a question which involves the 
supremacy of our own Constitution as well as tlie prin- 
ciples of humanity ! Yet because the citizens are begin- 
ning to awake and inquire into these matters which are 
of the highest importance, you deem it unfortunate. 



250 LIFE or 8BMAT0R MURRI8. 

Ytv*. unfortunate t<» the o 

ever a sentiment »o unju.Hl n 
lliinianitv re wc do 

« 

unto ail men ! 1 

the I'M.t of the h; lo ireati 

Constitution or the 1 y of i 

paramount nuth'»rity to do ^ 
way an<l n r an we may j 

to your - , n. \vl»i< h r< 
also to declare, tlmt it is m 
humanity, for ju . for the j- 
iuslitulion», for the h'-nnr and 

that this dt"- f *.• : 

exists, and ■- j .« ..i...J«K '' 

It waA prudent in ftu^l... g 

8hould avoid dij«cu!^ ' ■ " * *^" 
you mention, ek u 
fallacv of vour H- .a in 

foundation u|Hjn wl»iil»i 

It would have hhown thai i i iu^ wkH a^ luc 

Christian world waa ; I have proven 

to you that the - ut" Uie hti: i^: 1 ' ;irt, had 

becu moved in t y; that tho 

npiril of li^ht an<i truth ih a: . in the land, and that 
the dark and hiileou?^ > 

before it; inflicting it« on ita unlor- 

tunato victims a«» it« ywiwcr p: 1 that 

gluttint; its api r cru»-!tv and oj i» in 

its death Htru^i:- - It i.**. ; •. a n. -T, 

not of rcjjret, that it is even now made to feel the jmjwi r 
and intensity of public opinion. 

You next say, •• For that system of doii slavorj*, 

prevalent in tho Southern States of th.- T'nion, Ohio baa 
no community of feelint?. It is here < .. . lered a« a great 
evil both moral and political, and fraught with more por- 
tentous consequences to our nation than any other " It 



h 

d 




Waa there 

1 

- bo J • 

. lint I 

'- own 

lit (»h i 




h 


in such a 
- the ; 






"wn 






the 


»at 


the Und. 


y,. 


...r 1*. 


• ''irt, that you 




' ' • 


;he excitement 




• • 

1 I . 


vc shown tho 


iu. 


imc 


- •» the deep 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 251 

this true ? It is. And can we for a moment believe that 
this great truth, which is written on the tablet of every 
heart will lie dormant in those of the wise and the good? 
Surely not. And yet you who thus solemnly declare in 
your Eeport, the existence in our common country, of 
this great and alarming evil, should deem it unfortunate 
for the cause of humanity, that there exists in the public 
mind an intensity of feeling giving power and energy to 
its action, is one of those incongruities into which we are 
all too apt to fall. What do you propose as the reward 
for supineness? Nothing more than that happiness, 
which is the result of stupefying medicines given to 
assuage the pangs of approaching death. You promise us 
nothing better, and seem even startled in promising us this. 

Like an Erapyric in physic, who had given over all 
hopes of the recovery of his patient, you endeavor to find 
some cause for the fatal disease which is beyond the power 
of medicines to reach ; you consign us to destruction and 
then sit down, fold your arms under another most fatal 
error, that the Constitution of our country recognizes the 
existence of this feature in our social system, and the 
relation of master and servant. 

On this point however, I am at issue with you as to 
the fact. I deny that the Constitution of the United 
States recognizes or guarantees the existence of slavery 
in any of its provisions. You have not pretended to point 
to such a provision, except that wliicli I shall presently 
notice, and which does not sustain you, and of course, I 
conclude that none other exist, on which you can rely 
with the remotest possibility of success. Tlie ver}' idea 
of recognizing Avhat shall be ])roperty, or the tenure by 
which proi>erty can be holden, is at war with tlie very 
nature and object of the Constitution. That instrument 
is the foundation of all our political as well as personal 
rights. The Government is made by the Constitution, to 
rest on onan, abstract and unconnected with ]n'operty; 



252 LIFf. or SENATOR MOREIS. 

securlnt^ to him t vftlua)»lt' an«l ii 

Bueh aa life, lilK^rtv. iind tlM» ?• 

which ho is en i ^v it h :\ 

proportv ri-i :i minor * . ^ 

by law I atintc fr(»m 

I ask you. »ir, a* a Lawyer o 

the condition of our own it' t^ j hare 

taken l>o true, that ♦»•• ^ . our common 

country r«" '•••** »♦.... a* a re in our aocial 

system? U m >.'a not ..-..w.t^ at - •^••'* -N*--» ' -^n 

exist in Ohio? It- . - . .1 ,• ;, .ia 

vour ar nt. i« irr •'"<*• 

For ilftiuvt ry h: u. u^ iu« 

Constitution of I " tist 

evervwhore within llio 4 :5iAl«a, 

br the r arc sub- 

ject lu the com r l. 1 < t 

believe that it is your wmh or dc^jrc *> ' ' ' i 

a hlavi* if t! in y-nr 

Ili'port be •'i 

if you can. 

Your next allom|»t in nn ■ o 

of slavery, ft kind of i; 

nessofits] and is nt war w .1 

recoijnition of its ritrhts. ^ It wn^ e; 1 

upon our country dunii;^ our • t, 

the foundation of the Constitution it it ., , -r 

National escutcheon which the nry Government did 

not create, and for which the pr^ ..v ^ neration are. p^- 
hap$, not responsible. The won! ' •■' *"- '•- "-■ I ''V y<»u, 
is a word of fearful import. You w jm- n -«i.»». . » . Teat 
evil, both moral and ]K)liticaI, a stain uj>on the ni.i.-.nal 
escutcheon which the ex' * - r Government did not create, 
and which you say is fuiiy rccoj^nize<i by it» and then find 
consolation in the idea, that ptrhapt we arc not responaiblc 
for this great wicked' 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 253 

If slavery was wrong in our Colonial State, the chano-e 
m our political conditioii, you will not, I am sure, contend 
makes it right. The wickedness of holding slaves, one 
hundred years ago, does not prove that it is right to hold 
slaves now; because our Fathers held in slavery, the 
fathers of the present race of slaves, it docs not prove the 
practice less criminal or dangerous for that cause. Our 
fathers have gone to their account, and the present gener- 
ation must shortly follow, and are equally responsible, 
both here and hereafter, for the existence of slavery ; for 
slavery is constantly and continually an evil, an evil in 
all time, under all circumstances, and in all countries ; an 
evil without excuse, and without mitigation — the worst 
of all possible evils. Yet you would have us shut our 
eyes on this deplorable wickedness, because we were not 
the first in the guilt, and content ourselves with saying, 
perhaps the present generation is not responsible. 

That the Constitution of the United States, is the result 
of Compromise between the different States, is admitted. 
But I contend that that instrument contains in direct 
terms all the compromises intended, and that none others 
are to be inferred. Those a^eed to, consist in the forma- 
tion of the Legislative department, in the mode and 
manner of collecting revenue, in the grants of power to 
the Executive and Judicial departments; indeed the 
whole Constitution of the United States is a compromise 
between the different States, but it is a compromise in 
transferring power, which then belonged to the States, 
and is to be taken and construed, strictly within the 
letter of the grants made. The power thus granted by 
the effect of the compromise, I contend, can no longer be 
exercised by the States. But I deny that the compro- 
mises, in any manner aftected, or operated on, any of the 
rights or powers not granted, but the same remains with 
the States, to be exercised in the same manner, as if no 
such compromises had been made. 



254 L 1 F B 01 -' A T o R M (* K B 1 S . 

As to the existence of »UTer%* ' "'f 

it in the ('oiiHlituli I Nor <oul*l tht-iv bo aiiT c- 
niisoj* iK-twoeii I In* Siati's on that ftt iho 

formation of the ( "H »ho >, 

slavery exi}*lf<l In y-ur 1 have 

H«i(l. that those - in w. not 

consent to the , • of Uic < t • 

jirovision authorizing thrm to : m their »la\« 

ehould encape fnjm the M»rTi« • ** nf thrtr mji«.tfr« an.l be 
found in ft <*--*" "i-.-. »v a i*. 
mean no u-mh.i .^i.iw.- - "- > 
mistaken factn, your r 

Thi-re Wore n "' ' a- f-in 
did not exint at liiv ituio of Uie :« ' 
lion, and that 
continuance of ^ ^ hi i 

Hcope and tot 
terminating itA • 

word plavo or slavrry was oi loo 
used in that ii id in 

o<lium, and fix t 
of hlavory. it \\ 
the ( 

p)inir out, or the l»r 
exi>*linp. puch |>eni<jn!* a* ihfV niii:ht think | , to 
admit, shntild not bo proliibited hv f nrn-r^'s r.rinr to tlio 

year 1^<- . hut on aueh inn- .,. mijfht 

impose a tax or duty, not ex ■' ♦••" .!.''•«»-•. on each 

person. It is admitted that tJ.^ «• , . ^ . ,-■■.., ..^d io thi» 

Boction of the Constitution, evidently n^ - poraons of 

whom slaves have been made bv the uiutrent States. 
This provision was clearly intended to vent in Con^creat 
a power to prevent the traffic in »lav««, either f-nii^n or 
domestic, and to exhibit it to the public hou.*, by 

tli«» imposition of an cxtrannliuary tax. 

The restriction upun the ]»owcr of ('< «.» over tho 



« * - • • 




• 


V<»u 


rk ti , 




. 1 


f,r ii.jr 


II ^ r 






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;tU- 


I ul . 






the 


_' 









U 


IV 




\' 






ri 


to be 


or 






h 


n on 


thi< 


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i»( 


•n or ii. 






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of tho 


Si 




>t 



LIFE OF SENATOR 3I0RRIS. 255 

subject of slavery in this section of tlic Constitution, 
is the acknowledgement that the power was ample in all 
possible cases of a like nature, when not so restricted. 
And it is a remarkable fact that the j^ower thus restricted, 
was expressly confined to the States then existing, leaving 
Congress at full liberty to prohibit the extension of 
slavery in all new States that might thereafter be admit- 
ted into the Union. Yet in the face of all these provis- 
ions, is it not strange that a citizen of Ohio, one who has 
held a high Judicial station, and who is now a member 
of her Senate, should be willing to join the mercenary 
slaveholder, who, finding his claims at war with every 
principle of justice and humanity, is willing to engraft 
its odium into the Constitution of the countrv. It is, 
however, to be hoped that a Constitution whose founda- 
tion is laid u2:»on broad principles will never give nour- 
ishment to so deadly a shoot, no matter with what skill 
it may be inserted. 

But if you have been unfortunate in your premises, 
you are still more unfortunate in your proof, and conclu- 
sions. You attempt to sustain slavery by the third clause, 
second Section, fourth Article of the Colistitution of the 
United States, Avhich is in the following words : " ISTo person 
held to service or labor, in one State, under the laws thereof, 
escaping into another State, shall, in consequence of any 
law or regulation therein, be cKscharged from such service 
or labor, but shall be delivered up upon the claim of the 
party to whom such service or labor may be due." 

The argument you have drawn from this ^irovision of 
the Constitution is, that Congress having legislated on the 
subject, the legislative power of the States on the same 
subject, is superseded, and that we are bound to recognize 
the existence of slavery, by virtue of the Constitution of 
the United States, and to know the shive, not by proof, 
but by his natural appearance. We are to take the doc- 
trine of the slaveholding States as our guide, tliat color is, 



256 



LIFE «F 8E?<ATOE MOKBIt. 



in presumption of law, • 

claim urisiii;; tlni 

hence, in vi«»laii«»n of our own 

declares that • All nuMi ur«- ^"•rn • , 

ent, ami have c«T^nin n. nn*! 

which are the « .. "'" ™"'^ 



: that tho 

hy proof; nnd 

h 

1- 

amoog 



I. ill I 



(.Ui f 



be r 



You are willi* •' '- 

right* a» it r 

seized and at 

taken and cArr- 

or town <■ 

made. Aii<l \^ liui n* luc 

such jMTHon is a " 

lact admitted ; ' 

perrion an 

The onlv ; 

C 

to the ]>«T^on < 

is surrendered \ 

I would here ai»k y»>u t- 
quences of the ti<Mirine* you ]>r 
will not openlv ♦If^nv. thnt n 
our iK)litical 
same degree as a white 



.rv •-■r am" 



. ... 9« 

;..; Ill to be 

• " •^rmnt. and 

• *• rttr, 

.1 be 

That 

Uiai is a 

tho 

11. 

act of 

•r labor 

I on thi* ppMif he 

e. 

-e- 

I am •lire you 

.11 v..'A\ »:••♦ under 

nal liU'rf* .in the 

n ; and erty is ae 

., ni,..t»...r hy the (Vjnsti- 



Bolerauly securtnl to one p* 

tution of uur Slate. Do v«w ..-^ ,»...., ,» cd v *-~'ns in 

your own town, whom you n- • : -^ v- *"• • '-^t, 

and industrious citizens, subject tu w) ui.-auuiijk uui >Miat 
tho laws of our State have cr- * '" '* uhl you. as an 
honest an<l upright man. f.f I j 1 with the 

juj?ticc of voiir countrv, to see f.ui i» if am ntod by 

a citizen of another State, without oath ur warrant, and 
carried before one of your own uprijrht i rates, and 

in a few hours be consijjned by him to j>erpvtual and 
unmitii^ated slaver}-, u|)oii pnnjf made bv a ^ . '*^ 

ovun, uhkuowii to you or tho commuiiity in which you 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 257 

live, and whether true or false, no opportunity of inqui- 
ring ; but the magistrate, as you contend, would be bound 
to deliver over the person claimed, on his own judgment 
of the proof so made by a stranger, probably a slave- 
catcher, or more likely a kidnapper, Avithout affording the 
least opportunity to the person claimed to show that the 
claim was false, and the testimony untrue. I repeat the 
question : Would you feel satisfied to see a citizen of Leba- 
non, though a colored one, carried off in this manner? I 
answer for you. I am sure you would not. Your sense 
of justice and right is too strong for that. 

I again differ from your conclusions, as to the legislation 
necessary to carry out the provisions of the Constitution 
on which you rely. It is evident that many of the pro- 
visions of the Constitution of the United States can only 
be carried into effect by State legislation. Indeed, some 
of the most important ones are of this character ; and to 
my mind it is clear, that the provision contained in the 
third clause of the second section, fourth article, to which 
you refer, is of that description. Have you observed the 
peculiar phraseology of this paragraph, and with what 
care it avoids the recognition of slavery as a Constitu- 
tional provision. Its power can not begin to operate until 
a person shall escape from one State into another ; he 
must be held to service or labor in the State only from 
which he escapes; and, of course, in tlie State in whicli ho 
is found, he is, to all intents and purposes, entitled to per- 
sonal freedom ; but such State is prohibited from discharg- 
ing him from any prior obligation or duty he may be 
under in the State from which he has escaped ; but he 
shall be delivered up, on the claim of the part}' to whom 
such services or labor is due. Everv State in the Union 

ft/ 

has reserved the power of protecting from violation, or 
insult, the person of any individual found within its 
jurisdiction. 

It would be an anomal}- indeed, if the States had given 
22 



258 LIFE Or»EXATOR MORRIS. 



■\ ^n 



np this ri/;ht. thin ]V)\vrr to i \c tit- 

within their l> »» ^'^^w 

the shadow ol in i »* A iMAi^iMUo iruih. 

How then does it h iv be 

sci/.ed and ai 'T 

of any Stale law the • ^' 

ino<le ot'arn"t. or th. ; or i r oi • \rv you 

willing: to 811 'U ID 

lieu of the oath i ^nd 

•dopt the act of • - n* tho Ol .1 by 

which iHrs<.nj«. h- bv the Uw» of the 

State, wouhl l>e r r that art 

Fancv voun- - — 'h an«1 

man brouijlit h« ; . .t., V, .abor 

br anoilier. What von * •• "r 

even the intecn^tv *'i iuo A** "..• - i»<I 

that color wa8 />ri'- ' '*-' of ftlitx i^ . «ii<i Umt 

the riicht to the hcr\ucA ui tuc *i«ve b* '^ ^- mant, 
shouUi be proven by nuch ]•• ' -t lo 

intr* ' rii lu ii*c law* ui v. air (»wn 

8tate. UMUi; Uu* la *' t. "timlth- >T 

of 1« Ha» ' ri- 

grcni^, and un<ier thai yuu tna«t ••? 

I know vou loo well l*» i vou 

would entertain Mich a pi< . \*>u would al oi la, 

that no j»erson who was ii .s of Ohio 

from beini; a witii •• With- 

out ^oin^ further into illtiHti t if the 

legislation of the Stato could • t in one 

particular, it could r- ^ .le il entirely. To roe it appears 
that the law of Conpress on whi- ii \ou rely, is an 
infriniTcment of Stato snv, reiorniv r»r..| if rnnrvo nneon- 
8titutional. 

Let me not be told, that the lonpr acqaiej»< ence of the 
States, under the provisions of that act. j"- ' - the error 
of my opinion**. It has been endured ht iu opera- 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 259 

tion has been confined to the colored race, that abased 
and down-trodden popnhition, against whom such strong 
prejudices exist. But, Sir, its provisions applied in a 
single instance, to a free white person who might justly 
owe service or labor in another State, the whole country, 
at once, I have no doubt, would take alarm and be thrown 
into a ilanie of commotion. 

But why do I urge upon you the unconstitutionality of 
this act of Congress ? You admit it, in your Beport. 
You sav — " It mav w^ell be doubted whether Congress, 
under the Constitution, can confer any judicial power 
upon a State officer ; and should such power be attempted 
to be conferred, you are of opinion that such officer might, 
at his discretion, decline its exercise ; and that the State 
of Ohio, of which he is an officer, might by legislative 
enactment, prohibit its exercise." If Congress had the 
power Constitutionally to pass the act of the 12th of 
February, 1793, on which your Eeport is based, then this 
latter opinion of yours, carried into effect, would be com- 
plete nullification. If 3'ou are correct, that a State, by 
legislative enactment, might prohibit the exercise of a 
power conferred by Congress ; but if, as the latter part of 
your opinion is, that Congress has not the Constitutional 
right to confer power on a State officer, then every act of 
such officer by virtue of a law of Congress, is oppressive, 
tyrannical and unjust, because it is the exercise of a 
power without right. Yet to this condition you seem 
willing to subject a person in Ohio, who has the right to 
claim protection from her laws, and that too, in order to 
sustain and perpetuate slavery in other States of the 
Union. 

As I progress with your Eeport, I find less to approve 
and more to condemn. After having failed in proving, 
or entirely given up the right of Congress to require of a 
State officer the performance of an official duty by virtue 



2C0 



LIPK or 0K!«ATOI SIORRtS. 



of the act of 17 
d- ■ it ex 

Slate where the 
matter, it 
oiiM. and ini 



t in t 



•rer, have 

^ of tho 
n in thin 



It w 
the 



;«> 



pf 



unlcHM tiie ri>a<i<»n tor a \ 



was t'X 

usiirj>nti«»n inl«» a 
seem willing tliat tho r 
he weirhrii n^^t in the ' 
of inti-i . . 

well a« to th* "r.*' .. 
Bpirit of our ;.. "^ ^» 
ground of the l.--^ •-» !•• 
principle involve<i in iUv 
ernment is resolved into n 
particular vixHt's. t* 
liln^rty. whirli 
ema: 

impartuiliy ; 
benotitod und < 
Your next ]- 
exclusive 
enumerated n, 
plated t>r 
attempt of u 



i 



rv to the *T>irit 



d 
« to 

: yon 

Id 

in th«« nctde 

IV M 

■ 

i« vrnn not th« 

«"n tho 

: r the 

our Got- 

ui Ouii^Lii ^ to llllt 

' • :i*i uur civil 
a , 'of Uwt 

and 
an<i i*v which 



I .T.T.' 



4 « ,X V 



,u 



■ir 



1 iH. that under tho Act 

. of the matter to t 
Act. and that no . 



.1 is < :t* 

and any 
in unwiae 

ninttcr 

.ated 

h that 



and inexpedient. Let it i 
is the personal lil>erty of a human 
no law of tho Stato. nor done anv act b\ 
liberty has been forfeited. You can not deny but the 
Constitution of the State ^niaranteca to him the full enjoy- 
ment of that liberty, until it shall appear he is not 
entitled thereto. This is not to depend on a matter of 
opinion, but on matter of law; and I can not. with you, 
consent that an Act of Congress shall be exclusively 



LIFE OF BENATOK 31 O U lU S . 261 

permitted to seize upon the person of an individual, and in 
violation of the Constitution and law of Ohio, transport 
him without the State. 

You will not, I presume deny, that the very arrest of 
the person of a fugitive in Ohio deemed a slave, by the 
laws of a sister State, is a personal injury: — for you have 
admitted, that slavery as it prevails in the Southern States, 
is a great moral and political evil ; if so, its infliction in 
any clime, or in any country, is an injury to the person 
upon whom it is inflicted. Thus, while you admit exclu- 
sive cognizance to be given to this matter by the law of 
Congress, you trample under foot, nullify and abnegate, 
the Constitution of your own State, which expressly 
declares in the seventh Section, eighth Article "That all 
Courts shall be oj)en, and qvqyj person, for an injurj^ done 
him, in his lands, goods, j9erso?i or reputation, shall have 
remedy by due course of law, and justice administered 
without denial or delay." 

You nor no other person, I presume, will contend that 
the Courts here mentioned are any other than the Courts 
of the States ; nor will you contend that the Judges of 
our Courts, should they attempt to set in judgment, by 
the authority of any law, but the law of the State, would, 
for a moment be considered as falling within the descrip- 
tion of the aforesaid section, nor can the law mentioned 
mean any other than the law of the States. I ask you 
then, what becomes of the Constitution of your own State, 
if j'-our exclusive cognizance is a correct principle. It is 
thrown aside as a dead letter, sacrificed upon the altar of 
Southern slavery, or bartered for political ease and private 
gain. Establish the doctrine contained in your report, and 
the debasement of your State is complete, and her pride 
of independence humbled. Even the slave himself need 
not envy us ; his condition is involuntary, while his 
mind may remain free and noble, ours would bo voluntary 
and a debasement of the mind itself 



1.'0J LIFE OF SK.NATOR XOEIIt. 

As to the ]•: >f J«' of *i»c ^' *nii « • 

31; - in thiH matter, ami ibe » 

they exercise ih- 
I am williii 

it Ih worth. l!\<ry man in that s 

within l»is own knowi 1 tlo not know 

what vou mean in the . rl. when 

you Hpcak «'rih<' !•• i»w* aa 

you IukI j- 
sance of the matter, w:i«« hv the Art r>f < 

the officeru therein DU: I' r 

de<-i.'>ion in the matter muHt Ik i 

benetilaof the %iTit ' ♦' ft .^^ ,, /'.^....f 

I liave thus hoiu^u* iv» !«"»'» »wui • ine 

iklse premises it ha«» - ' * \ th» : -5 of th« 

argument hy which it .» ' ' ' and it 

bui» more fully c i iu« oi li.c ir : Uiv louowin^ 

]ir H : 

1. ihal the C - in 
no instaiii'e n \* 
in any of i 

2. That r^o 1 im baa sol 
the |K>wer to o what -^ riy, 
or the thinps of which i' on Ih© ■ of 
ri^rht to its f) .. That thia 

pively to the :^ 

3. That pru|Hrty is and • t'^ h<^. on account of th« 
materiality of ita natur lure of law. and 
outrhl not to be taken into tbeacronnt in the oritrmal ( 

Ht it lit ion of Government. 

4. That when pro|>erty is found in w;.o State, and 
claiine<l by a citizen of another State, that the Coarta of 
the State in which eucb property is, under the laws thereof, 
are alone competent to determine the rijjht of poaaeaaion, 
as well a8 of property, and that in tbia particular the 
States are entirely independent of esach other. 



LJFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 263 

5. That the claim of property in a human being is con-: 
traiy to justice and the natural order of things, which is 
"heaven's first law;" that it is solely permitted and 
allowed in the States, not guaranteed, or even excused by 
the Constitution of the United States. 

6. That to seize a person, w^ho is found within the juris- 
diction of any State, and transport him beyond its limits, 
without the authority or permission of said State, is a 
gross violation of State sovereignty, as well as of indi- 
vidual right. 

7. That it is the duty of the Legislature of the State of 
Ohio, seeing that persons are held to service and labor in 
other of the States, and may escape and be found witliin 
this State, to provide by law, in conformity to the Consti- 
tution of the United States, the rule of decision bv which 
such persons may be reclaimed. 

8. That the provision of the Constitution of the United 
States on which you rely, is subject to the exclusive legis- 
lation of the diiferent States. 

9. That the legal, or Constitutional presumption is, that 
States will faithfully perform their duty in this matter, as 
they do in the election of Senators and Eepresentatives to 
Congress. 

I am deeply impressed with the incongruity of the act 
of Congress to which you have given so much consequence. 
If a murderer, of the deepest dye, shall flee from tlie jus- 
tice of the State where the crime was committed, and be 
found in another of the States, the Executive authority of 
the State from which he fled, is required to make a demand 
of the Executive of the State where he is found, and pro- 
duce a copy of an indictment, or an atlidavit charging the 
person demanded with the crime, and certified as authen- 
tic by the Governor of the State from which such person 
fled, before he shall be delivered u]) to the demand thus 
made; while a person, wdio is held to labor only, in any 
of the United States, and shall escape into any other State, 



261 LIFE <''r gE:<AToii morris. 

may bo I, or ar by any }>- ^t. 

ricd before a more Ji. <i on *»™1 te«ti. 

mony, true or false, or hv n v in • 

foreign Sute, that the \ ^ 

owe labor, or Hcrviro to th«- ^ bv xhm 

mere dUtnm of -■ '> .Tii,t;. . tn n in V lian 

death it«olf — 1«> j-* j^- i.n. *▼ 

on far niorr »afr iimi fir- ' • ■"■ * <, 

%cho ii p' ' ' no criiuf, m ir.To#< - fi^n ' 
aloue on th ' hit U i 

Winn I lyn^'k ii ' my r..uniry. and 

find itM \^ »»>*< «^n- 

tinu.-l f>nd that 

Hi .. I 

can not but e> i • tnr 

country, when I n '• 

will not «1. 

You i« brith a moral and ] al 

evil. an<l you |»ln« •» lh*» . f it i 

ment of that - ■»• 

mcnt. 1 nni not v •J"*' 

Kepublican Inj»titu ^ m the i fall i Hut 

this is not all. You have sw..rn to annn.irt the (.'onsti* 
tution of the Uniiiil Siatc«». i».d it t- . ar to your 
mind, that your oath btmnd yoa to an active maintenance 
of slavery in any of the State»? If it is proper and right 
to take an oath to snp|>ort an entire instrument. I can see 
no immorality in tukini; ' ' *'i to supp<irt any of 

its part.**. Yet I will not i . i«»r a 'lit. that you 

would, under any <'in'ir "o aii wiith to aopjM'rt 

the existence of the 8\ ul niax " " you pro- 

nounce to be a moral and up \N r may submit 

with patience to the evils of :it. but t«.» nwear to 

give to those evils an active rt. is a roijuirenient 

which the honesty of the human ht-art will not submit to, 
for any plate or power the Government can best<>w 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 265 

It is a strange thought indeed, that tlie framers of the 
Constitution of the United States should, by that Instrii- 
mentj intend to rivet anew the chains of slaver}', and 
guarantee its perj^etual existence in all time to come; 
when the Congress of the United States, by the Ordi- 
nance of July, 1787, immediately preceding the date of the 
Constitution, and while the Convention that framed it 
were actually in session, gave the death-blow to slavery 
in the i^^Torth-Western Territory ; it being the first portion 
of Territory over which the United States had the right 
of jurisdiction, by providing, in a fundamental article for 
the government of the country, "that there should be 
neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said 
Territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crime, 
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." This 
solemn rebuke of slavery was given by the Fathers of the 
devolution, the first moment they had the power to act 
on the subject. The debt of gratitude the people of thia 
portion of the United States owe to the authors and sup- 
porters of this Ordinance, can never be paid, nor too often 
acknowledged. 

Yet you would have us believe that the wise and good 
men of that age who formed the Constitution of the 
United States, possessing the same feelings and having 
the same interests as those who framed the Ordinance of 
the same year, intended to ]5erpetuate slavery as a Con- 
stitutional right. It is drawing too largely on the cre- 
dulity of your fellow citizens, to expect their credence to 
such a proposition as this. Permit me to ask you, do you 
expect and believe that slavery as it exists in the United 
States, is to be perpetuated and concurred ir., in all time 
to come? 

Look upon the millions whose rights it has trodden 
down, and who groan beneath the incalculable load of 
human suffering it inflicts, and then turn your face to the 
justice of Heaven, and answer the question. 
23 



866 LIFF OF SFXATOR MORRIt. 

Wc have petitioniKl for nomc faint alleviation for Iho 
evils of slavery. Though at present •— ^ '-own. w© are 
not disheartened. Another year Mm ap;ain call yonr 
attention to tliif* i- 'ant *nl and it ta hoped thai 

then we mav all nuct ii w 
deeper senne of the hij^h <> 
in the pursuit of the 
do nor suffer wronir. and ti»»t the 
opinion will be t to a 

Under that ) wc « 

that Boiiii^ \n v< ^ ar« the I 

and 'as the rivers c: H.- • 

soever Uo will." 



r 


! a 




that 


»iU 


■T 


' 





It the 1 


IMUO to 


our 


rulers, 


them w 


T- . 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 267 



CHAPTER XX. 

Mobs — Alton Riots — Death of Lovejoy — Mob in Cincinnati, in 1836 — 
Public Meeting — Birney's Press Destroyed — Warned to leave the 
City — Gazette Threatened — Speech of the Mayor to the mob at mid- 
night — Public sympathy with the mob — Contrast in Public Opinion, 
Mr. Morris invited to Dayton b}'^ the Mayor and others, in 1839 — His 
Answer — Visited Dayton in 1842 — Mob Violence — His Letter to the 
Mayor after the mob — Remarks on Mobs — Mob at Lexington, Ken- 
tucky, against Cassius M. Clay — His heroism — 'Mob spirit at Cleves, 0. 
Church closed — Prayer in the public road by Samuel Lewis — Infidel 
converted — Lane Seminary— -Trustees forbid tht Students to organize 
an Anti-Slavery Society — Dr. Beecher's Speech to the Students — Anti 
Slavery influence of the Beecher Family — Attack on Senator Sum- 
ner — Condemned by the North — Approved by the South — Mobs 
overruled for the extension of Anti-Slavery Sentiments. 

Eeason and truth are the only legitimate weapons of 
discussion, the true tribunal before which error is defeated 
and truth vindicated and established. There is no logio 
nor light in the use of physical force, or violence ; and a 
resort to them, is a perfidious war on intellect, on riglit, 
on every divine prerogative of man's nature. It is the 
utter annihilation of intellectual manhood, and subver- 
sive of the method, which Heaven has ordained for the 
development and triumph of all truth, and the exposition 
and overthrow of all error and wrong, and alike destruc- 
tive to social order and civil Government. Free and 
thorough investigation, is the right and pririlege of 
all men ; and all things are subjected to this searching 
ordeal. !No system is exempted from this universal law, 
either by the inhibition of the Creator, or in the nature 
and necessity of things. " Whatsoever is of the truth comcth 
to the UghtJ' and desires investigation. 



268 LIFE or 8KIfATOR VORSff. 



Thoprrtem of slave rji. "• thi« I..- iCopnblic. tnd 


in thi-< ni^«' r*^ ' llcctual iv.u\.i\ and r- "'• '« demands 


exeinjition fn>in meordral of tl» -^ ^ n. 


Fear- 


fill of the power of t- * ' ' : o 1 r * H 


tfiriiA- 


Bion of its nntiirc. i ii*» • 


' ^ 


bv the " Ul uiv irce Mau-ft, 


have brill «i ', bv 


• the 


voice of : and of (ho ' 


t of 


Blav< the 


t 


of the 11 the ' 


^, 


hnvr Ikth tl.f «>r!i:in of iho mokw. thai 


kUIT« 


takon ; in the > 


erty 


have \> 


e. 


Alton. I .| in 


-«« 


of the rii;hl.H of 1 n. llcr«». in the y- 


r 


Rev. Elijah P. 1.- . wm a m m»»b tr 


•it 


in the de<»tr n* inalienable a 


.i. 


right* of Amerioaii ri!i. 1!.^ ^a< ** ntin»o<l in 


m- riii 



and trial." and for mrnth^ n ... .. :ide<l a^tnat a 
mob. headed bv 1. ^ -^ri - r** and eoii*^** '-anoed bv the 

m 

Municipal aulh ; . .. ^ ; A.^- ... in the n.. .-i of men who 
thirsted for hi« bl«MKl. and with a coura|?e that waa invin- 
cible and morally Miblime, he waire«i a warfare a^inst 
the unholy cnmade, that t^ ^ b was making on life, and 
the liberties of the ] i ..r«r different tiroes was his 

prcM destroyed. Put... : ■ • him 

to deaist. But he declined, uol»i\ 1 luimsX, on 

protection in the exe: .f my : If the civil 

authorities r to prt.i«ct me, I mnai look to Go<l , and 

if I (lie. I have determined to make my Jfrave in ." 

There, as a martyr to Am. i, he did die. On 

the night of the 7th of November. I?si7. while ig 

-with a few friend.'*, a tree Pre rn the mob, ho waa 

murdered. A.s the of the Christian marlvra. waa 

the seed of the Church, so the blood of the martyred 
Lovejoy, was the &ood of frv4>doflj. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 2G9 

Cincinnati, in the summer of 1836, witnessed an extra- 
ordinary mob. James G. Birney, of Kentucky, convinced 
of the sinfulness of slavery, became a practical emanci- 
pator, by giving the boon of freedom to all his slaves. 
To aid in the work of general emancipation, through the 
medium of the press, he attempted to establish a free 
press in Kentucky. This was denied him, by the slave 
power of his own State. He came to the free State of 
Ohio, and under her Constitution, which declared the 
right "indisputable," of sj^eaking, writing, or printing on 
any subject, he established in 1836, in Cincinnati, the 
Philanthropist. 

Here also, in the Queen-City-of-the-West — a city which 
owes all her commercial prosperity and wealth to freedom 
and free institutions — Mr. Birney met with a strong and 
unexpected opposition. The city was moved with excite- 
ment. The press of the city teemed with inflammatory 
articles against Anti-Slavery men, and their eftbrts to 
publish an Anti-Slavery paper in Cincinnati, declaring 
that "the citizens of Cincinnati — embracing every class 
interested in the i^rosperity of the city, satisfied that the 
business of the place is receiving a fatal stab from the 
wicked and misguided oj^erations of the Abolitionists — 
are resolved to arrest their coursed Citizens of the hiirhest 
respectability and influence, of great wealth and intelli- 
gence, " came to the determination, that the Abolition 
paper should be put down, pcaceahli/ if it could, forcibly if it 
musty 

On Saturday, 23d of July, 1836, more than one thousand 
citizens of Cincinnati assembled in the Lower-Market 
House, and there resolved — "That nothing short of the 
absolute discontinuance of the Abolition paper in the city, 
can prevent a resort to violence." 

A Committee of the most distinguished citizens was 
appointed to wait on Mr. Birney and his associates, 
requesting them " by every motive of patriotism and 



270 



LI>E OT II15ATOR MOlRli. 



philanthropy, to desist from thn tu!l 
and to warn them of th- 
The Chairman of th" 
opinion, that if tho I'li- 
a mob of unusual t 
destroy it; that it wouiu « 
persr»n8 ; and that ' ' ixu j 

city would join it. ii uouiu 
set hi • in o] ; to it 

Mr. Hirmv and i 
fn of the : 

they say : 

*' It would to the 

should • be 

attempt nt di 
part of t 

and unmanly on ours, 
demand of h1uv» r< w 

guards of liberty iii 
slavery may V». r.. rnrtn 





rhoy did not." 




! it aa hia 




•ntinaed, 




..;y Would 


•J I 


uve thootand 


_ a . . 


' "-^ of the 




wiiu should 




the 


•r Iv the C ' o 


* 


♦. ilarery 


amoDfc 


as: it it an 




1 on the 




1 bebMe 


t t« 


rirtnuUv the 



inent of the ^.....^ 



• ..J. 



in orior that 
re now f r tho fuller attain- 

-.:>|C tl T.^ of ai to 

follow their example. T'- "" 't u i ;.. ; made in 

our case, formally and dviui" laivi^ to put down tho free- 
dom of -' Vi and of the t ^nd there is not a free- 
man in Uio :>tate ' * invaded in any 
assault that may b<' iuu«ie uu un, tor r<i imb 
to an imperious " rn-nder our r 

** Such an attviupi i<i trample under fool the it t 

of the ] d and 

backed by buch an amount of moral, ii tual. and 

pecuniary power — has rar- in this ct.untry." 

The deed was consummated. Saturday niirht, July 30th, 
1836, to adopt measures to «»f a free press, 

the mob met on the corner of Mail. - nth streets; 

and formally and deliberately entered up<m their work of 
destruction. The office was plundered, and the press was 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 271 

taken out and thrown into the river, and Mr. Birney 
warned to leave the city in twenty -four hours. The Cin- 
cinnati Gazette, the oldest paper in the city, then edited 
by the veteran Charles Hammond, which had discounte- 
nanced the proceedings against the freedom of the press, 
and rebuked the spirit of pro-slavery so rife in the city, 
was visited by the mob and threatened with destruction. 
The private residences of several anti-slavery men were 
also visited by the mob ; but no violence was done. 

The Mayor of the city, at the hour of midnight 
addressed the mob in the following speech : 

"Gentlemen — It is now late at night, and time we 
were ail in bed — by continuing longer, you will disturb 
the citizens, or deprive them of their rest, besides robbing 
yourselves of rest. JSTo doubt it is your intention to pun- 
ish the guilty and leave the innocent. But if you continue 
longer, you are in danger of punishing the innocent with 
the guilty. We have done enough for one night. [Three 
cheers for the Mayor]. The Abolitionists themselves, 
must be convinced by this time, what public sentiment 
is, and that it will not do any longer to disregard or 
set it at nought. [Three cheers again]. As you can not 
punish the guilty, without endangering the innocent, I 
advise you all to go home." 

This was the first deliberate effort to suppress the 
freedom of the press in Ohio, and, though encouraged by 
such powerful influences, it signally failed. The Fh'dan- 
thropist was issued several years afterward, under the 
proprietorship of Dr. Baile}^ and, instead of a weekly it 
became a daily Anti-slavery publication, under the title 
of the Cincinnati Morning Herald. 

Public sentiment in the city and in Ohio, has now so 
thoroughly changed on the subject of slavery, that it 
would rally, with an overwhelming power, against any 
effort to put down the freedom of the press. Truth and 
light are omnipotent in disarming error and prejudice, 






Llt'E or KKMATOft VORRIM. 



an<I Mru «!'"«? :ne«l lo inttncrnr .1 

rei^n of .. . »in and j 

Mr. MorrU did not - rhi* h.-r.ir r.f • 

for his devotion !'»'■• .. . In Mnv 

1839, be waft ii.. ' ^' »*■•• . ..-}' «''l.. ; 

citizens of Dayton, i - » -iv ^ ran adiln-^a 

on the impi^rtant qr • _» >miu !»iu%'cry. The 

letter of invitation, uiii ; ■ .\cr are her* »ir ^* i. 



lio.N. J U'.MAk ^' 

citizens of V 

adiniriii:; the * 
you. a Hi- 

firmly i. 
again- 

in ret to I 

appoint ji tiintv 
▼isit us and ai 
tome of those i- 
yeurf. have h> 
men with the un 



Dattoh, Um^ 

The i: 



i> 



• •f (he [ 



the 



ot t 



It 



1-- 

to 

t . 

rai 

in. 



_:ni'd, vnn fpcl a deep and ahaorbmi^ 

interest. When your determ . n shall be made known 

to us. due notice of the time ai. . ,.."••''' ♦'" 
■hall be given. 



• I . « ■.. • f I r I rr 



ANSWKK OF MR. >' 

'^^^"HKA.., >...V lUlh ^"''^'* 

Dear Sir: I received • ' ur- 

Belf and other gentlemen oi ua\i«»i*. ol lu^ oiu iUf<;aitt. to 
▼wit you, and addron the cit or town, on the 



deep and intcre>iii. .n ul Anuruan 

system that claims lo bv- b >r to ' 

and rights of the country, it is 

as you justly remark, of "Southern a 

ern servility." I ivjoice to find the pe. 



ry; that 

:i«. lawn, 

th- 
vorv where 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 273 

examining the unjust and unreasonable demands of 
the slave power in our country ; that power that is 
making war upon all political parties and conditions of 
men who do not render it the homage it demands. It is 
therefore the duty of all parties to unite to resist its 
claims. It is, not only the common enemy of our country, 
but it is the common enemy of mankind. 

It claims to rule, or divide and ruin the nation. AVe 
must check its onward progress, or it will soon be estab- 
lished in principle, if not in fact, in every State in oar 
Confederacy. My best efforts, feeble as they may be, are 
at the service of my fellow-citizens, in aiding them in their 
efforts against the monstrous demands of the slave-holding 
power. I will shortly inform you when I can visit Day- 
ton, which I shall do with great pleasure. 

I am, with respect, yours, 

Thomas Morris. 

Mr. Morris did not visit Dayton till January, 1841. It 
was on his return from attending an Anti-Slavery Con- 
vention at Columbus, that he, at the request of a number 
of citizens, attempted to address them on the subject of 
slavery. He was prevented by a mob. On his return 
home he addressed the following communication 

TO THE MAYOE OF DAYTON. 

Sir : Though I address you in your official capacity, yet 
it is not intended tliat your character as a gentleman and 
a citizen is to be overlooked. As the Chief Magistrate of 
Dayton you are highly responsible for the peace and quiot 
of the town, not only to the inliabitants thereof, but to 
the country at large. As an individual, you, in common 
with your fellow-citizens, have a common duty to perform 
in the establishment of the ^xjwer of the laws of the State 
over the reckless passions of wicked and misguided men. 
In addressing you, however, I do not intend that you 



274 LIFl or SISATOB MOERIS. 

alnne shall be the r :."• '^ ^ ^5«h to be heard and 

undcnilooa by the t.i.. "' •'<" ^^'^ Stat<» find 
country at larpc. 

You, with many oilur t •'- "^ of Pv * " ^▼ili ; v<:, 

that in May. 1 * ' - -ncd bj 

yo '■ r Uiii4 a ii;,^'iav : of the 

inhalMlaula ul l>:i ^ the Clli- 

zi ! ' In my li . »i v,iii L^ I i u ' * -d 

you to ' *"* 

vililv. ' it «"«-•♦ -^ • • *** ' 

m 

evidently al. ihia • • ». *i»ti 

•*Bervil i ^ **• 

BJ y. 1 ii *l 

1 afterward in: n i « it 

you ; hut •'v^n at^or thai time I met and tonv« h 

n at Xenia <»n lhi« t, 

and ; nt \ 1 ^V- 

ton ; but the i mf* f'r a like 

pnrr>rij;p, pf Ii **t" a 

bt ..<. . ;aat m — .... : -. - -- ^'^ 

On my return from the Ak,. . ... ->ry Convention in 

Columbufi. I passed t'- ''• P**^ 'on. an-* "^v fr -. who 

were with mc. ami ^ " -- •♦ of Dayton, 

ap^reed to call a m< ■ ; >ji lut- • imj ,. •■•--♦^-! that 

I should addrena liicui, on the r- --'i Ameri'.au -tavcry 

upon the moraU. as well a.n the jHviii. ' ' •" nncial con- 
cerns of the country-. 1 ne gentle- 
man. whom I know not. «. . to b« pniii- 1 circu- 
lated, the following 

Thomas Morri«». f«>rmcrlv V '^t, will 

m 

deliver an address, this cvcninir. at the Court Ji 
January 2'M. \^i\ 

At early evenini^ I npaired to the Court Hoaae, not 
dreaming of any dibturbance or violence. 1 could not 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 275 

suppose that, after what liad transpired at the inobs in 
Cincinnati, and in Alton, and the outpouring of public 
indignation upon the actors in those scenes, another place 
could be found in America, much less in Ohio, in which 
the rude hand of mobocratic violence could overawe the 
majesty of the law, and trample under its unhallowed feet 
the lives, liberties, and rights of any portion of the people. 
But I was, alas ! too soon convinced of my error. Soon 
after my entrance I heard threats of personal violence 
toward myself. Some said, that if I was in the house I 
should never leave it alive ; and others, that they must 
wait till I commenced, and then we will give it to him. 

I remarked to a friend, that the mob was ruling, and 
we might as well retire. AYe did so, unknown, amid 
their yells and threats. After walking a square, I returned 
and went into the house, and found them censuring each 
other for not waiting until I had attempted to speak, then 
they would have had me in their power. After they found 
they had missed their prey, I noticed they went into one 
of those " Ohio Hells," called groceries, where wretched- 
ness, debauchery, and crime of every grade, are sold by 
measure, and swallowed w^ith greediness. I left Dayton 
the following day, and, though informed that I was way- 
laid to be mobbed, escaped personal violence. 

The house of the gentleman, Dr. Jewett, whose hospi- 
tality I enjoyed, was assaulted during the night, with 
rotten eggs, and a carriage destroyed. Great and enor- 
mous acts of wickedness, have their eomcomitants and 
results. Such attended the mob scene at Davton. On 
the Monday evening after my departure, the mo'rifhly 
concert of prayer for the slave, which a few pious persons 
in Dayton, believed it their duty to hold, was observed in 
Dr. Jewett's office. The presence of yourself, and other 
officers prevented the operations of tlie mob. until the 
close of the meeting, when the office was attacked, and its 
contents destroyed. Thus has a religious meeting in 



•270 MFl OF HENATOR V! rt R R I ». 

Davton been »ct upon by a mob, d«'^"»-**l tn the oaate of 
•Itve-holdinGT in oar coantry. and u^ « >iii*t made to set np 
that inf»titution above relicion. law. and the lireAof iheir 
fellow men. Sii« h »cU an t' if |»orniitted to paaa, 

wilhout c<»n(Jiirn j- uui no* ' ' the Insti- 

tutions of try. I ac^ a' (^ 

UB, and roin|K'i «»ur in u< ti« ol iheir 

lives an'l j»r'»i»orty. H:i i I i-^n kn^wn to the mob. in 
the Court 11 1 u,.uld 

have been instantly m my . Hhod in 

the 'I i law. in the of Dayton. 

My life w:. by j rpo- 

piti<»n ('f \*r" 

I now yi; to von nn«l tin* < "W thr^t I hnd ifiven 

to the cilir.rn«» of 1' i no ja»t < .. I waa 

there a« an American eitixon.and waa v< . hv the Con- 
atitution and lawn of th<^ r.nntrvwith all thoae rights, 

which a portion of my I ' • " '-'lod me to exer- 

oiae. I pr-" ■•-•Hi to d--'^"*- ♦• ' •" '. •Mcrican 

•laverv — tia vvils and .-. lia^c- i njv.aa an 

American citizen, a rif^hi lo tauvaM the demanda of thia 
giant f^' ! <»f wn»ni»? What d«K*4 idavery in fact 
demand.' iid» '4 the overthrow of the re! the 

liborlies, the m .. - the < I laws ui the 

country. It wnuid in. -oata of the 

country upon its 1 \- to 

its Bupromary and obey ita 1 : . f 

God and man wo havo urirod a ]• lul and interminable 

"War, and wo will toarh our « on, even at the ai^ of 

nine years, to lay thoir hands* upon the alUr of their 
country's liberty, and swear eternal enmity and oppo- 
sition to slavery. 

The mind is lost in porfoot am that in tl«i-<4 

Christian land, in this free country which haa written 
Constitutions ami laws for its Government, that rooba 
should be found who endeavor to destroy the freedom of 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 277 

the press, and the liberty of speech. Why should this 
effort be made in Dayton ? Is it because there are slave- 
holders residing in Dayton, or that more whisky is made in 
its vicinity than any other portion of the State. May slave- 
holding and intemperance, the two greatest curses which 
the world ever saw, be speedily abolished in our country. 
"VVe believe they are well calculated to bring into action the 
worst passions of the human heart, and that they have 
been the moving cause of the mobs and riots which have 
80 often disgraced our State. 

These mobs, said Mr. Morris, in a memorial to the 
Legislature, almost constantly employed their efforts 
against peaceable citizens, often ending in the destruction 
of life as well as of property ; and that for no other cause 
than that such citizens were opposed to slavery, and in 
favor of the repeal of the Black Code of the State. Indeed ' 
to such extent, and under such influence, have these out- 
rages been carried on, that safety and protection in the 
exercise of our clearest Constitutional rights, the liberty 
of speech and the press, is rendered very problematical, 
even in our courts of justice. 

We claim for all our people, from our public functiona- 
ries of the State, protection in the exercise of their rights, 
and we ask this from our present Legislature. We feel 
justified in urging this subject upon the special attention 
of the General Assembly, because we have heard it often 
suircrested, that althoucjh the violent proceedings of mobs 
were by no means justifiable, yet that the doctrines and 
proceedings of Abolitionists were less so. We will not 
descend to libel the good sense of the country, in answer- 
ing such suggestions. We approach the Legislature, 
however, in the entire confidence of the truth of the 
declarations, that mob violence in our State has become 
dangerous to the peace and safety of the community, and 
ought to be suppressed by penal enactments. If there be 
an existing cause in the country that produces Buch 



27S 



LIFE OF HENATnm MORRIS 



violence, and if such cause be more d 

violen If. »ii' *» that 

doings ol llie Al» ' 

pie, or ur i or 

and 'y ol ilio < 

BCtoni In- law ; if the 

which we claim a* <»iir i 

gerous. punish uh for its < 

be anundid. and thin ri^hl * 

dani^rrous 1 It is the 

saved from 

] , only by the knr»wn and 

land, if pniltv ♦>f any 

we owe I '»•»' • 

Ca»5iu» M. i i;l^ 
of slaveholders ai. . 
i!^"*"n, in June, 1 ■ *. . . ..:. 
d*«< v^d to "fn*sdual and C* 
and to uphuld the Chrii^tian n: 
stitntional Ropubli* ■ 'n in j 
free discussion met wu:. 
citixens of L. 
declared — "Thai t 
cussed, and that ' 
<' jnmittoe. appr«»Vfii by .. 



more 


d. 




^ tfiftn the 




if I. 




i .nes and 


. 


ition 


ut 


--1 prinei- 




» 


, t 


ic peace 


ik 


lUc 1 




om and 


of ► 






ilic preas, 
dan* 

^ to as a 






y 


' man to be 






in 


h or 


>d 






•« of the 



the i 



Lex- 
npcr 
. .on, 



iu: rcM^iauie irvm the 

Lfh the public pre*s. 

' " t he dis- 

Huv ; A 

:. waft api^Mnted 



to confer with Mr ' and ur^e him to nxi 

Tru^ Anifrican. 

Mr. Clay n\ot the crisis with heroic 
chivalry, di'clarini: to the < that — " Vour ni- 

ls one unknown to the laws and < •» of my coun- 

try ; its purposes, its spirit, and its a like its mode 

of existence, are in direct v in of every known prin- 

ciple of honor, religion, or povernnient. heM sacred by 
the civilized world. I treat them with the hurninir con- 
tempt of a brave heart and a loyal citiEen." Mr Clay 
prepared to moot the mob, and determioed to die in 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 279 

defense of his birthright, the freedom of the press, and 
the liberty of speech. He made his will. All his rela- 
tions believed he would be murdered ; and •' all but my 
wife and mother advised me to yield up the libert}^ of the 
press ; but I preferred to die." 

The True American was immolated at the shrine of 
slavery. On the 18th of August, 1845, a Committee of 
ffixty, from a public meeting of twelve hundred, delibe- 
rately proceeded to the work of silencing the only press 
which, in a slave State, gave utterance to the inspirations 
and thoughts of liberty. The office was dismantled, the 
press and type boxed up, and sent to Cincinnati. Thus 
did slavery triumph over freedom and Constitutional 
right ; and in the person and property of this noble 
champion of liberty, gave a new illustration of the pur- 
pose of the slave power to extinguish every light that 
revealed and exposed the system of slavery. 

Mr. Clay is now honored, by the voice of a free nation, 
as one of the able and intrepid champions of freedom. In 
the great contest between liberty and slavery, he has been, 
and now is, active, earnest, and eloquent. Wherever he 
goes, listening thousands hang on his fervid and inspiring 
words of freedom. He is a practical emancipator, showing 
his faith by his works ; and in every battle-field of freedom 
he has fought heroically, and won honorable renown. 

This intolerance to anti-slavery sentiments, reached 
and controlled Christian churches. Notices for anti- 
slavery meetings were refused to be read from the pulpit, 
and churches closed against all meetings to deliberate on, 
and pray for the overthrow of American slavery. The 
Trustees of Lane Seminary, in 1834, prohibited the forma- 
tion of an anti-slavery society, and declared that all 
discussion on the subject was improper. This action, so 
contrar}^ to the genius of Christianity and of free insti- 
tutions, compelled the students to leave the Institution, 
and go where free discussion was tolerated. The lostitu- 



LIFB or BIXATOE M O R B I f . 

tion \tBe\r was thr. 'i wiiu wi mf- »- .. « Miob. if 

there was not n » of the A " ^ "«•. 

The Ycneral'le Fr- i of the 1> u. it L.Miian 

.er, whoM* : - ; a- h^ 

given to the ant • ul i; iK© 

world an . ''• ' • ^" *^« 

htU'U-nt.H- f •» r'*- '' **•* 

are ordinarily a$ %r<H as mijtr wmlk^ds »/ v, 

tkan to do it /> « Jt i* moi aUiy o takt a bmii hf 

Ike horns. )'<*» 'tr^ ri*jkf • hmi im yomt vmif, ^m tmm'i mtrmd, 
Jf you iho< ' *- *^**^ ♦•»•.'»■<' HT. «/ 

and ikoMl, Amxi/i"" I Mapw and 

ncWhV' '»'• r?» of ' • 

Anti . ... ipk- ^ of 1- - '^ 

♦'diecredi table i*- ».- Inptilut'- r. an.l calculatt^d tn ii. 
m deep wound on the r- "« * of » . ""d 

the indignation of the | •'.. ^ * '• •^'W^. 

Clevea, in UamiUou ♦' ^ *>" ' ' ' ** of 

violent n- • • ,„ ^i. ...^' of 

1843, the I'u-^v' r ui iLc i \nixu, i^cv. Mr. 

ScofioKl, and a i o! ik. ..cd » m« * ' for 

frea di »n vu r »! Lewia, .lui .^t han 

Blanchard, now P' ihc ' lili- 

nois, and Tli M«trr 'ii 

integrity of pnn- r, have 

enrolled his nam - the ea- » o*' fr** 

speech and 1 r». 

A m«ib wasorganired and a riot t:.:< a A namb«r 

of StudenlB from Lane S .ry, went down with the 

bpeakcrs. Landing at N"rtl» U«'nd. ihey \ . the man- 

sion and tomb of the lii: i.cral Ilnrrirton, on their 

way to the chun h. The doorb of the n. ; lionw w«r« 

barred against the friends of freedom. I*i nt and 

influential men were wiili the rabble, that prevented the 
CouvootioD from occupy ing th« moeiiug hooa* Tb# 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 281 

Convention, thus forbid to enter the house, occupied the 
road in front. Eev. S. Lewis, an able and faithful 
Laborer in the cause of freedom, recently gone to an 
honored grave, kneeled on the ground and oflered a moat 
solemn and impressive prayer. For a moment the rioters 
were palsied in their nefarious operation. One of them 
often said, '^ that prayer I shall never forget." An iuti- 
del Avas converted, and " the wrath of man w^as thus made 
to praise God," and advance the cause of freedom. 

At the invitation of Eichard Hughs, a ruling elder 
in the Presbyterian church of Berea, a mile distant from 
Cleves, the Convention met at that church and held its 
sessions two days. The impression of that Convention, 
abides to this day ; fires Avere kindled that are burning 
brighter and brighter. 

The Cleves rioters, not satisfied with driving the 
Convention from the village, smashed the windows of the 
meeting house, mobbed the house of the pastor, threw his 
buggy into the canal, and shaved the tail of his horse. 
The perpetrators of these deeds of darkness, chose the 
covert hour of night for their mob performances; they 
were of the baser sort in the community, but were insti- 
gated and backed by quite a number " of those of repu- 
tation." These mob scenes, created an era in the history 
of that region and will be long remembered. 

Mob violence also transpired in the Temple of National 
Legislation, on the floor of the Senate of the United 
States, where Thomas Morris had stood, two my years 
before, to defend the Constitutional liborly and the rights 
of his countrymen. 

Charles Sumner, a finished scholar, a brilliant orator, 
a ripe Christian Stateman, and a Senator from Massachu- 
setts, had devoted his genius and j^owers to the cause of 
human Liberty. 

In May, 1856, in the Senate Chamber, he made a 
masterly and logical speech against the slave power, for its 
24 



282 



Lire or SENATOR MOBEII. 



infliction of .'nnvou* and n^ 

people of K.. . ..- T' rritnr\ 

wrong, anti manly 
excitement in both IIou-, • . 
have revenge. 



I^ 



S. Hi 



«ji ij 



'Jl \.u 



.Ur 
in M 



?*. «n I ho frod 

;>OM of 

. I gremt 

rtv\,\ «'-tv.-rv must 



■ iii South 
' and of 
I nis desk 
'v went 
or 

n. 

■ ! 

.^Iv 
o. 

vn freo 



CariMiitu. was t 
the club law. \V Um. 
in the Si-nato « 
up to him. anil, with 
to the fl«»«»r. hi"* hl'^^l ♦.• 
and vr\ 

and an indignant Nation. Mr 
woun«lo<l. an«i « 
Thi** ?). : . . 
d in fh«» n of iho n- 

•acli 

Startling . n. The North 

and generous impuliM*. in a mu — 
thousands met, dc • » ■ ' t^- ^t. nt .rimr nnr\ 
the expulf»ion of i. 
unanimity, approveii l.m -.• - .i..valrous and right, 

and thuH made the act of BrouKs ihcsj'mbol of their own 

faitlj. purpi>8e. and practice. 
A Committee of th '• 

of Ohio, an able and iuiUilui ii< 

grcs.«», was Chairman, wa.** :. 

rox'hition of exj 

a lengthv debate, v 






nn<i 

-al 

re 

.. 1 



A IS i'. 1 .iiiijajcd!, 

r oi : ' m, in Con- 

1. who 'ht in a 

; u liich, after 

bv a majority \ C one 



hundred and twenty -one against ninety-t; . !•: ks, 

however. wa8 not exj it requirinir a vote of two- 

lliirds of the members pn'*ont : al |M»Wfr of the 

vote compelled him to resign his seat, and appeal to his 
constituentM. lie was unanimously re-el . thu* prf»- 

claiming to the world that his violent purpose, and act, 
were approved and applauded by the f>outh This resort 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 283 

to mob-law in the Hulls of the National Legislature, is 
painful evidence of the violent spirit of the slave power, 
and of its determination to rule or ruin. 

These outrages on the rights of American citizens, and 
in the destruction of the freedom of the press, and of 
sj)eech, were overruled for the diffusion of light, the 
extension of anti-slavery sentiments, and the re-awaken- 
ing of public opinion against the designs of the slave 
power. Every effort made to suppress discussion, either 
in the halls of legislation, or by the violence of mobs, 
gave an intenser glow to the unconquerable spirit of free- 
dom, and multiplied, by tens of thousands, the friends 
and advocates of human liberty, ready to resist the aggres- 
sions of the slave power. This fact is evidence of a Provi- 
dential government over the affairs of men, overruling 
evil for good, and is prophetic of progress and final victory. 
The voice of millions, now in the battle-field of freedom, 
responds to the noble words of Whittier. the Poet of Free- 
dom and Truth. 

Think ye, one heart of man or child 

Will falter from its lofty faith, 
At the Mob's tumult, fierce and wild — 

The prison cell — the shameful death? 
No ! nursed in storm and trial long, 

The weakest of our band is strong ! 
We can not falter ! Did we so 

The stones beneath would murmur out, 
And all the winds that round us blow 

Would whisi:)er of our shame about. 
No ! let the tempest rock the land, 

Our faith shall live — our truth shall stand. 
We bate no breath — we curb no thought ; 

Come what may come. We Falter Not ! 



284 LIFE or SKXATOE MOKKIS. 



ru WTYM \XI. 

hj^vcii of Mr. M^rr;i^ 

The hlnvc r in . »"• 

ciftc ft <«'n>«»r --(h**! y 1 ho 

Post OtVuo. the. »• 

a medium forth*' t' ••» 

tOBomcofthc* Thr ofihit 

Con8titiitional ', in. aud 

effortM wen* im '^ The Norlhorn 

Mailn when tlu»v an i*. i ... * - Mlh C*n>Iin*, 

were guardo<l a.H the pa.H»od ihr i.iv « .^y to tho Pott 

Office, and. aAor umi - • -^ - ». all Anti- 

slavery publ .1 ot iiic luai.". and con- 

sumed in a I , m I -. m the niid<tt of a K<'»^^raJ 

re; 1 I .: >r till :ir act* • 'in 

olhor |Kirtion!4 «>! i i. 

President Jaek^<)n, at the t, lu IfyMi, 

vr. .inniriidtMl in hij< Annual " • a law, 

that will prohibit, under - the • n 

in the S..uthern ^ thr<juirh tho Mad. of i ry 

publications, intended to the - to in^wrrec- 

tion.' Mr. Calhoun n^ 1 to the ^ i HiH, 

prohibitiujLC Postmasters from dilivering, "any , t, 

newspaper, handbill, or other printed paper, or \ il 

representation touching the s ; of slavery, in any 

State, in which their circulatioii prohibited by 

law." 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 285 

Against this Bill, Mr. Morris, on the 14th of April, 1836, 
made the following 

vSPEECH. 

Mr. President : I am opposed to the Bill; it contem- 
plates the exercise of new power or powers, in a new 
form, over the Post Office and mails of the United 
States; and if the power contemplated be not unconstitu- 
tional, it is, to my mind, a most dangerous abuse. " Con- 
gress shall have j)Ower to establish post offices, and post 
roads." Those words, as used in the Constitution, have 
an evident reference to an existing state of things, and the 
use for which post offices and post roads was intended — 
for the purpose of a free intercommunication of thoughts 
and opinions between the citizens of different parts of the 
country ; and was deemed of so much importance, that 
the power to provide for its safety was vested in Con- 
gress; and the words "to establish " were used to denote, 
that Congress had the power to fix, unalterably and 
immovably, beyond the interference of any State power, 
the entire operations of the Post Office, and the traveling 
of the mail throughout every part of our extended Eepub- 
lic. The Post Office establishment was not intended as 
an attribute of the power of Government, but as a means 
by which that power should be exercised for the benefit 
of the citizens individually, by providing a channel of free 
and full communication between them, though residing in 
different sections of the country; and that their letters, 
papers, or pamphlets, should pass without any hindrance 
or molestation from State authority. This principle has 
never been considered as a proper charge on the revenue 
of the countr3^ but Congress have provideil that it shall 
be supported and paid for by those w^ho use it ; Congress 
being vested with its management, and guaranteeing its 
safety and fidelity. The use of the mail, then, is in the 
nature of a reserved right, with which no law ought to 



286 LIFE or SIHATOE M0RBI9. 

intcrftre. It i» not, then u • ^ in:i» i.iue cxcla- 

ui A ni pltoAure, or 

rentier n' ' :»- 

irrefts have \Uv j to r- "i li>« 

I> i .; Ml ami fix it« ii. ' n- 

ment nhall at n«» tinu* b^ »• !• 

with, any i »b** P<^t* 

a^o ha>», iVoni t.. •• 
ingiy. 

It ifl true t!int th*» ? •• « v and 

prohnblv n 1 '^t b«l 

I CO: ; L . Mt 

b ♦' * ^'h 

lation of the niau, it Ui^ vu »f 

thU i)rivile^ to the luii ezt4»ni ui au iii*.- y >f 

c; nt, bvt) . - I 

<r, 

8api>ort of the i'o««l »•© it i» in 

the nature of « \ lax in tb© r. »• 

levied upon lb«>iK« only who u- e ail f»uch 

taxes ouj^hl t'» be I- 

ingto their i 

ary for the pur^ I hav*» in view, t tt. 

That I'onj^rt'^ have \ to r ile the ad 

pn scribe what fihall Ix* ■ n, 1 do not deny; 

but I ineint that ihin |K>wer ia coutined t'» thf ii il. 

not the moral matter to be conveyed. • .,'i'-" • •»!• 
prescribe the weight, the bulk, and the kind of material 
which shall not be conveyed by mail, but »*•" material 
must V)e judged by its outwani appearance at- ..♦ and not 
by break ini^ any envelope or seal fur the purp«»*c of 
ascertaining this fact; for instance, no postmaster would 
be bound to put into the mail a pieo^ of sheet iron or tin 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 287 

of the shape and size of a common letter, even on the 
payment of postage according to established rates ; and 
why not? becansc it is the usual means of conveying 
mental property onh' , and because its very texture would 
tend to the destruction of papers and documents which 
the mail was designed to convey, and which is its legit- 
imate business ; but if even an article of the above kind 
was carefully folded in the usual paper envelopes, sealed, 
directed, and put into the Post Office, it would be a 
dangerous exercise of power indeed, to permit a deputy 
postmaster to refuse its conveyance in the mail, because he 
should judge it contained improper matter. But, Sir, I 
would say to the Senator from Connecticut, that his amend- 
ment affords no redeeming quality to the dangerous prin- 
ciples of this Bill, by confining its operation to postmasters 
in the slaveholding States. 

Can we, can Congress, take from an}' citizen in 
such State any personal right or privilege, or regulate 
under any circumstances the manner of this engage- 
ment ? I should think not. Suppose a letter, package, 
or even a pictorial representation, folded and directed 
in the usual manner, and put into any Post Office 
in the United States : I would ask the gentleman whose 
property that letter or pamphlet is? Does it remain the 
property of him who deposited it ? I think not. And 
though postmasters might as a mere act of courtes}^, permit 
the depositor to take it back from the mail, yet he would 
not be bound to do so, because it is his sworn duty to for- 
ward all packages, which, in their common outward appear- 
ance, are such as arc commonly sent by the mail. Is a 
letter or package, when left in a Post Office, the property 
of the United States or Post Office Department ? Surely 
not ; no one will contend for this. It is then the property of 
the person to whom it is directed, and the United States 
have given a solemn Constitutional ]iledge that they will 
convey it to him. without permitting its contents to be 



288 LirK or ubnatoe noRiii. 

ii, d or -» "^^y '^' " <*"* manner to b« 

d, 1 or >^ whai uiuni m^oeftiMihly lake 
pla' e in it« | 

Sir. what \ : lA»e ' '»- 

e«ty of an intiivuiual. who ■ r ur ; J 

d« nt. under . A or ai p: -^ i»« 

wuull r it to the v- m it waa 

d; d rrtAin or d • it, 

b. I.o • 

muttrr *»an a ready 

aii>w< r. A I. '^ **» 

thin Govcri»m«ni e 
ri^ht c»f the j 

PAFKHM. nn'l -* n» ^ 

acij5urci», ^ - 

ri , r . I ,i.t r ■.. ._ 



.11 



t .It t 



pn.«« any I*!" .. 
after havJT - - 

ol' carri au'i j" » vi 

one of lu ' - ' are 

pv . r ii*;** pr'->pvny lo be 

8eui«i ui*«l • ' of all 

miMuiH. thut ol I J 

somothin;; l*- ihe 

States, bv anv iaw or . to \ , or 

ratlur . the n ot i • on ihe part of 

the Tniloti Star the . an w - tha' t- 

ini^ between the ]•■ who M>ut. and hitu uhu has paid 

furthepui *? 

Sir. the verv li t is, or ever 

will bo. disponed to i to n r« . u of ihii* kind, 

must, in my hunibb* ju _ :it, mei'l with the niout 
decided di^appni :, of the ^rvat majority of the 

Anieriean jKopU-. We, Sir. frvn^ueutly loao hi^ht of our 
artrunient, l»y attemptin|[r to extend it too much into gono- 
ralities : the mind, by nttempti"L' ♦'» embrace too many 
idoas in apt to become coufus< . I will, then, make a 



LIFE OF SENATOR xM OR ill 8. 289 

single case for an illustration of the subject: and I will take 
one as strong as the honorable Senator from South Carolina 
could desire. Suppose I and a citizen of the gf nllcman's 
own State should see proper to subscribe and pay for a 
New York Abolition paper, or the proceedings of an Abo- 
lition society. These tracts, by the laws of New York, 
are legitimate property, and he would violate no law, 
either human or Divine, in making such purchase. The 
United States has an establishment, the Post Office, by 
which the Government has given a general notice that all 
property of this kind shall be conveyed for a given price ; 
he pays that price, and his property, thus purchased, is 
sent to the Post Office in New York for that purpose ; and, 
according to the gentleman's theory, this property is to 
be seized by an officer of this Government, without war- 
rant, detained on mere suspicion, or with a knowledge of 
its contents, I care not which, and without the knowledge 
of the person to whom it belongs, and finally destroyed ; 
and that, too, in the very face of these sacred pledges, 
given in the Constitution for the inviolability of its con- 
tracts, and the security of papers thus sent. I should 
tremble for the liberties of my country, could I suppose 
for a moment that Congress would adopt a principle of 
this kind ; the very suggestion, coming from the quarter 
it does, is sufficient to give alarm. 

But, Sir, permit me to turn the tables on the gentleman. 
He, too, has had within his State a proceeding which 
caused much excitement, both within and without the 
State ; I mean the attempt to nullify acts of Congress on 
the subject of the tariff. I assure the gentleman I do not 
mention this with any unkind feelings whatever. If, in 
that excitement, societies had been formed, and publica- 
tions made in the State, for instance, in which I reside, in 
aid of the doctrine contended for by the gentleman and 
his friends in South Carolina ; I ask the gentleman what 
he would have thought and said, if an act of CongresB had 

imff 



1 



290 LIFE or SEXATOl MOBRIf*. 

been pasH,.(l to prevent the pr 

and HiK-ii puMitatioiiH in n- 

the mail to any citizen < ' ■ i imsv no 

doubt he wnij.l li:i '»l in the 

most Bti^nir and i 

thuHto. ivcc: ion 

in the mn««t i- i a li 

by the pn 

itA chararttT. ui • ^-f hv I 

in my opinion well r . I 

wide Hj)reatl ii ;it thr y 

meanuro that ha* be4»» I to thn r. n of 

this body, since th- *' ^*" ^^'d 

])ray upon w' • • ;.... ;o 

upon oar ju<li;ii •nd I had 

almof^t Haid, in iu,-pitc ui uur j ii »« opf»n iho 

^^round that the '■ • f: js bonnd to respect 

the laws of the > i lu ihoir « ' ' ' *f> 

permit it<* own < ' ^. in t ' ' .r *iuiu •». an 

required ))y : ' " i*^» ihr < d 

of State hiws. and iil l«»r t' 

anco of tl»oHe ver^* duue*». And ii i»* ! «t 

nlaverv is a «: or ^' that t ho 

property of the ma^ttcr in his alavc i the 

Constitution of the I'ni' and that il ii» the duty 

of Cont^rt'Si* to | i.» bv law, in • ''to iho wi 

of the shiVfl. - or anv one of them, that no 

pamjdilet. newspaper. K !! 'T <'fhfr pa]H'r. print<»'i or 

written, or pictorial roj np the - t 

of slavery, shall be sent into any State. Territory, or Dis- 
trict, where bv the laws of such Statp Tprritnrv or I)iH- 

« 

trict, their circulation is jirohibited. 

Sir, the whole doctrine is founded in error; that fatal 
error, which would subject the laws of Congress to tho 
different policy of twenty-four States, and thus entirely 
destroy the userulness and l>encfit0 which this Govommont 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 291 

was intended, and is calculated to administer. In sup- 
port of this strange, wild, and visionary doctrine, we, 
(the free States I mean,) are called on to put the gag into 
the mouths of our citizens, to declare that thev have no 
right to talk, to preach, or to pray on the subject of 
slavery ; that we must put down societies who meet for 
such purposes ; that we shall not be permitted to send 
abroad our thoughts or our opinions on the abstract 
question of slavery ; that the very liberty of thought, of 
speech, and of the press, shall be so embarrassed, as to be 
in many instances denied us, and if not entirely pro- 
hibited, rendered in a great degree useless. All this is 
required to be done by an act of this Government, out of 
respect to laws of one or more of the slaveholding States. 
Sir, I deny the whole argument, and all its inferences, 
with but one single exception ; and it is that which 
declares that slavery is a domestic or State regulation. 
AVhile I freely admit this as my opinion, as my vote on 
the admission of Arkansas into the Union will prove, and 
although I may view slavery both as a moral and political 
evil, yet while we assure our brethren of the South and 
slaveholding States, in the spirit of truth and candor, that 
w^e have no power to interfere with their domestic regula- 
tions, and that our sense of the moral wrong can not 
cause us pain for a breach of our political duties imposed 
on us by our own consent, with a full knowledge of their 
condition ; and that under our social compact, we would 
be bound to aid them in the suppression of any insurrec- 
tion, whether servile or free, that should become too pow- 
erful for their own laws; if, after all these assurances 
made by us — and I repeat it with the ulmust eamlor — I 
think it unkind, if not unjust toward us, that gentlemen 
should not be satisfied, but still require of us another con- 
dition, that we should acknowledge that slavery is guaran- 
teed by the Constitution of the United States; and though 
I have heard that doctrine often repeated, I have heard 



202 LIFE or HE NATO II MORBIS. 

no . • inl. a denial \' ' ' ' re to make 

in til In .^ and " 'on 

h. lialf of ihi- Stair I m |»uri a« wtii aa 

niN>- If I " ll^ r my mo?*l ■■:•■> 

is the ini| nt in thin i^ it 

I ' to exitri""* m at i i T- 

•i. but that it may be. a* far a« 1 a it, 

to 1 "i • lh« 
of pr«ip«Ttv in ^• 

I or that th<» r r tn I iV6 

a** pr<«|Krly. i^ '»< 
I'roperty in h uj* v 

nature of law. and in thin count r\- i« f .»- 

uire of State lawji. The wi»rd i»L, i i to 

lit- f .Tind in thi* ('«'T'.*t it t:T ♦.-.?! . f tKr- 1 nnr! hT 

. ; ...V perusal o: «... 

f the paAt, no one v ■•••'•' t-v ex.-.- .;. 

tny form in thin li> y - to ailmit, 

iliat the<' — '-tution %*u-' n a m. •»* . * * - •- 

uiz in its iraiuern. that Mavcry u;d in t ■ u tno 

litVerent State** ; vet the »laTc id tr- 'ot 

« 

I thin^ ; and oj* n p^ not : . . it* r 1 

in Coi H. . in |j lu- 

tion ot itie Tniteil ' no • ia hi-iU to 

8er\Mce or lah«»r in one rr the iaws tV 

epcapini; into another. .-iny law or 

r. 1,'ulation therein. Ik* d c or labor, 

\nit tihall be delivered np on the of the party to 

whom such Her^•ico or labor i« due. Thi«< pr n of the 

Constitution of the Vnite«i .'^ - the 

existence of a person held to norvun* or lal»or. under the 
laws of a State, and in it« »!•• n-mld as n-rll be 

understood to mean a wl. n and ono 

hold to labor for a torm of years, an wtdl . . lave for 
lilc ; and I can not !it that this provision <lisprovoe 

the pohitiou 1 a^ihume. that ibo ConaLittitinn of the United 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 293 

States does not guarantee the right of property in slaves; 
yet I have heard this so often and so earnestly asserted, 
that I begin to feel some concern, that should this doctrine 
remain much longer without being contradicted, it might 
become the settled doctrine of the country, and produce 
the most mischievous consequences to the non-slavehold- 
ing States ; for if it be true, and can be maintained, the 
honorable Senator from South Carolina, or any other gen- 
tleman, may bring his hundreds or thousands of slaves 
into the State of Ohio, cause them to labor there as long 
as shall suit his convenience, and withdraw them at 
pleasure ; and no law or regulation of my State — no, not 
even the Constitutional prohibition against slavery — 
could reach his case, or afford us any security against this 
innovation; for the Constitution of the United States, and 
the laws of Congress made in pursuance thereof, shall be, 
or is, the supreme law of the land, and the Judges in 
every State are bound thereby ; anything in the Consti- 
tution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstand- 
ing. It seems to me, that the free States have a thousand 
times more just cause of fear and alarm, while gentlemen 
so strongly assert their Constitutional right to their 
slaves, that they will attempt to introduce slavery into 
the free States, than the slaveholding States have that we 
shall attempt to interfere in any manner with the ques- 
tion of slavery, as settled by the laws of their own States. 
They are attempting to overwhelm us by the power of 
this Government, while we deny the right of Congress or 
the Legislature of any State to interfere with the internal 
regulations or police of another State; but while wo deny 
this power of legal action, we contend that no institution 
of any State, or of this Government, can or ougiit to be 
exempt from the moral power of public opinion ; that 
power by which the whole fabric of our institutions ought 
to live, move, and have its being. If the argument as to 
the Constitutional question of the right of property in 



294 LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 

persons be wicrcd and invi-^ ^^ . u iuucb 

8tron::«-r and more forcible wi.tn at" ~*" 'n 
ll, and all' ' Suio ii 

ei r to jM -: luio ii« 

jii n. for ui^* «»r l'»r ':^« 

bling nia<hint-* of any »»» I 

tiii^ht hv > r 

sccuri'd undor ibc ' h 

penal v be %*ain a: A 

8tato of t of tbiN kind v« e 

indi'«>d, aii to which It the I'ni- 

tcil - Y,.l if 

tlu-.H*' thiiij^j* wrr»" and 

riH'n^nir.ed a*» a 

Would bo fur 'f^ ^ I 

it« power, atti-nin? to v .», 

printinrr y,^] r- 

cine « . .... . ... J '■ • f *ri . fhr. rM..T.|o 

of our HJBtor S'-''-- ♦. - f 

Bonding by iii.in an -w n , • ;■■ ... 

them to abandon th« - • • *^ ■* ' » 

were both moral and ; wus. ici sum i- j«_»i;- 
trine of the biV un; a plain expiMuiuii of 
w)ii« h ii* it« best niu; 

There ha.** been a' 1 

with thi.** Hubjeot. thai it A(- ttUtl ; >♦ 

Were not put down, and ii» (a» ihey 

are called here.) j»reventi*«i trom bving into the 

Blaveholding State**, the Cnion munt n ould be 

diss«)lved. and that tip care of her own 

interests, and that Hhe wai» h I 

retrret. as 1 have before ex, ! inynelf. on anolh.r 

flubject. that I so <»iuii liear this tl. . "f 

the Union ; it is. however, a vain auil idle threat, « i- 

ted to affect no i^ood. but may d We are 

sometimes spoken of as a family , and ihcallu.^iou 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 295 

is not an inappropriate one. Wliat family, I would ask, 
could long continue in harmony, if any one of its members, 
on the least dissatisfaction with the general economy pur- 
sued, should always be found declaring that he or she 
would dissolve the union of the family, or secede from it 
altogether? ]S'o family could long continue happy and 
prosperous under such a state of things; nor could partners 
in business ever be successful, or labor together in peace, 
if one of them should, on every slight occurrence, which 
he did not approve, make a like threat. For my own part, 
I should always be disposed to believe, that persons who 
make such threats, desire what thej^ threaten, and that 
their continuance in the family or firm, instead of being 
a benefit, is always an injury to the remaining members. 
Dissolve the Union? "Who has the right to do this? No 
State or individual has either the moral or Constitutional 
right to dissolve or secede from the Union for any cause. 
A man may attempt revolution, and may commit treason 
against his country, but whether he may finally receive 
the reward of the traitor or the patriot, may depend 
on the final issue of the contest. The union of these 
States can not be dissolved but by the consent of the people 
to a change in their Government, in the manner provided 
by the Constitution of the country. States or individuals 
will never be permitted to do it; for if there exists in the 
American bosom one principle of patriotism, more strong 
than another, it is that of attachment to the Union. This 
principle is so deeply-seated in the hearts of our country- 
men, that it can not be shaken, and the Union must and 
will be preserved. All threats of dissolution, as I before 
said, are vain and illusory; they never can, they never 
will be carried into efi'ect. 

This question, like most others agitated here, has not 
been suttered to pass by, without an allusion to party. 
We have been told that such is the influence of party 
discipline, that in the very eye of the gentlemen rests 



29G LIFE or HE?<ATO» MOBftIS 

one, who. by raising hii« fin •« r 
vote. In»inuaiioii« of t i. I. for 

me; the country will i«! ' '• - t ibcir t < 

said, however, that the . » '>' HU annual n. 

!•(.. - ' la nicaaurc «'i ... - ^ ... and i: . .:.:..;• 

thai h;« i.ariy hhuuM now faltt-r. I follow t--'^ ^* >- re 
the Constilulion and pri^ ■ ' -! ; and «..•*. ...vn 
allempt lo take their place, i ' • Tx»rt the admin- 

ihtrntion party I «m a Lr or in the ^roal 

priniipli**^ wi ri» ihcm , ana 1 ii. ..:i- r • n 

them in all ; and •♦. >"or Ihv »• 

thcM' prill l<5 **' *">' 

abilitie«, 1. *T 

of his eoiintrv. unci * *he 

ba.-is of the '«t and } 'i' '^y 

man living. That h«» mnv - ' •»* 

his most ardrnt : ' "* 

error, when, in truth he ••♦ not. Hut 

that this hone!4t di; , •• 

his opp<»fiers need not h< , . r . that d 

that p09tniai»terH and i.f^-. • »•• nf this * <- d 

arrest the pa ^ — ' • thnm^.. ...o mail of pi.: .. - any 

kind, as com. .;.i ,aled in thia Bill, I do not understand, 

but he 80 •=* the pr • - ty of •"-■•■• -••• V a law aa 

would pruuiuit. under »t\trc pcnn Ntion in 

the Southern States, thr ' the maii, oi . lan' pub- 

lications int« ' ! toil ' hlave to ju^urr- * n; 

not barely a pul»: ' ' l of aiavcry. 

With preat respt*ca tu tlkia rt », or rather 

81 ion. I can not give it my ^ l , to puni*«h inju 

rivb duno to individuals. b< - exeiuMively to t ^ h; 

they have ample srourity in their own power t«* punmh 
an}' person in their jur ^n. wh<» may n*ad «»r distrib- 

ute any jtuhlication which ihi-ir laws may prohibit, but 
they can not reach the p<^st oflice or the pfM»tma.Hter for 
its delivery as directe<l. becau!»c •luch act is under a 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 297 

paramount authority. I, for one, doubt, strongly doubt the 
power of Congress to i^rovide by law for the punishment 
of any act, as a criminal offense, but for those especially 
enumerated in the Constitution ; and I can find but few 
such grants, such as counterfeiting the securities and 
current coin of the United States, the punishment of 
piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, offenses 
against the law of nations, and treason against the United 
States. It will readily be perceived that I confine my 
doubts to punishments to be inflicted in consequence of 
judgments by the civil tribunals of the country, rendered 
in courts of justice. Whatever is my course here, or 
elsewhere, on this or any other measure, I can not suffer 
the Senator from South Carolina to be my sole judge. 
There is another and a higher tribunal before which I 
must and am willing to answer ; and to whose just judg- 
ment I will most cheerfully submit for my opposition to 
this Bill. 

This Bill, designed to fetter the freedom of the press, 
and the circulation of thought, was rejected by a small 
majority in the Senate. 



•J'.l^ LIFK OF 8KXAT0* MOBftlll. 






nat«<J— Fr r— If •• 

t«.i— II n 



• >D b! 



The : n of ; b- 

lican form of ' t. 

crt»atc«i and |n '! by 1» 

ri»e to variiHl po ... ... opinions nnri i 

become the nucleu'^ •~»T'"nnd whi« ^' • TTr* ithcr 

and rally. The >n . i and \h .. t -^r 

ties, ba.Hcd on the^rt-al landmar '^ ■ • 

a<lmit of no doubt. Thev are ihv -> u h, 

and the index of ]• ' • ' . •- ri. i :j> iucn 

according to their vuritju.** vuw- .trid u. jw tiicm to act 
with energy and unity in that Imo <»f ) .-nial to 

their jirin ' Parti ' . l ol - and 

collision ol inulUi-t. lK>tii ul u li iilributi* lo a healthy 

national and individual ^owth. 

Tliov act as a tonnt-rvative power on each other, and 
thus tend to a clearer virion of i truth, and to a 

purer ami more patriotic courwe of action. Tlu '-r of 

j»articiiin a Democratic Kepuhlic is not in their o 

organizations, but in their rigid i and 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 209 

clan-ship. This abridges the free expansion of thought, 
compresses conscience into party platforms, and transfers 
the judgment and actions of men to party-chieftains, who, 
often selfish and ambitious, are liable to make, and do 
often make, a shipwreck of freedom and morality to 
purposes of personal aggrandizement. 

If " Parties in free countries are useful checks upon the 
administration of the Government, and serve to keep alive 
the spirit of liberty," yet there is great danger in a Eepub- 
lican Government, that parties will lose sight of great 
moral and political principles, and absorb their independ- 
ence and manhood, not in devotion to the interests of their 
country, but in men and parties. The evils of this are 
great. It tends to corruption in public men, and to the 
subversion of the pillars of national strength and pros- 
perity, by disintegrating political science from moral 
truth. The philosophy of politics ought ever to have an 
indissoluble connection with moral principles. The true 
end of all wise legislation, and of true political science, is, 
not to enunciate new moral truth, but to give sound polit- 
ical principles, and true morality, a vital power through 
the fabric of society and civil government. 

Politics is a noble science, combining the great political 
truths of civil government with the truest moral principles. 
Webster, the lexicographer, defines politics, or the science 
of government, " That part of ethics which consists in the 
regulation and government of the Nation or State, for the 
preservation of its safety, peace, and ]n-osperity ; compre- 
hending the defense of its existence and rights against 
foreign control or conquest, the augmentation of its 
strength and resources, and the ])rotection of its citizens 
in their rights, with the preservation and improvement of their 

morals.^^ 

This view of the science of politics, elevates it into a 
system of morality, and imparts to it the dignity of trutli, 
and the sanctity and importance of Christianity. It 



Liri OF RKTTATOm MOBRIi. 

involve* the whole int - '^ of the nation, and U inter- 
woven with all that • uui»atruo- ^' ml tniiha, 

thert-roro, and the iiic^;vjn^ and / ' .t« 

and insjiiniti<»n» of n " itic«, 

and rr- .n«i ^' » *>l ] 5*- 

Tliie union i« oni "i li •**' u»«'rnl 

Bap of CI nty t r- 

injf itH n> and ifrnwth to it« trunk. ^ 'h 

to it» hru! ruit*. 

ami |HTjH.«tual pn'Horvnti..n 

I and »f 

libertv f> i hv the rt df tho nation, and let it die 

in c . or by a I 

Wa>i «• in hi« K.. n, 

a "olotnn nTt<M to th***** • :n Mirini^ 

• It w. . , worthy of . 1 at no dis- 

tant |M»riwl. a fTTvat nation, i- _ _ *it 

mous, and too r-'^.l . T>rrifi!.. nf % t nhmv^ tr^ i 

by an exalted — • *bt 

that, in thet'<>u»'« -i ... ; ».....^-, ..• ;. ..;t^ of rnich 

a plan woald richly I'pjy any t'*v rary ailvav' • '•• 
which mi^ht be luet by a aleady adii- !• m-o to it. Cim li 
be that Provi ' - ' - not • ' d the permanent 

felicity of a nui;oii wau it« viriu I ho experiment, at 

lia**! is n- I by every iK'niiiuvnt which • • * ' - 

human naiuri*. Aia-s! it is ■ ' i»y lU 

vicea." 

"Of all the d ^ . u«nl 

prosperity, Hltjutn and M arc »up- 

portcrs. In vain would that man the tni)ute of 

patriotism, who nhoald labor to suhvort \\u*^*' \!^v^\ pillar* 
of human l»appiiK«»*ji — thet»v tirint*»t propM o( the duty of 
men and citixcns. The mere ^ . with the 

piou8 man. outrhi to respect and < A volumo 

could not trace all their < 'Mim. , tion with private and 
puV»lic felicity. And let lu, with caution, indulge the 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 301 

supposition that morality can be maintained witliout 
religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect 
that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious 
principles." 

These fundamental principles, need a re-confirmation 
and a fresh application to the regime of parties among the 
American people. The doctrine is now proclaimed, in 
party Conventions, that religion and morality must be 
disconnected with politics ; for when united it is said " It 
withdraws attention from the great political principles 
upon which the Government is founded, and is dangerous 
to the perpetuity of our Republican form of Government." 
Mr. Morris firmly believed, that all lasting National 
prosperity, had its existence and growth, in the principles 
of Christianity. Two years before his death, he declared 
'^ That one of the worst signs of the times ivas, the fact, that poli- 
ticians and men high in public favor, were in the hahit of sneer- 
ing at the morality of the Bible. If the morality of the Bible, 
said he, is rejected in politics, and in the affairs of Government, 
it would have but little influence in private life, and the conse- 
quences would be disastrous to the character and happiness of the 
people and the country.'' 

In view of the unsoundness of the two great parties of 
the United States, Democratic and Whig, and to restore 
the action of the Government, in regard to slavery, to the 
policy of the Patriots of the Revolution, and to bring poli- 
tics under the benign influences of Christian niurality, the 
friends of freedom resolved to form a new party, and make 
their principles known and felt, through the ballot box. 

The ballot box, in the United States, is the prerogative 
of freedom, the palladium of American liberty, and the 
eifectual Panacea for the political and social evils, that may 
aliiict the country. It rules men in and out of office, and 
directs the whole policy of the Government. It places the 
power of the Government into the hands of the people, and 
through their sovereignty, the vital organic principles 



302 



LIFE or f»r.XATOR MORA IK 



of tho Govcmmont, aro made officicni n* * -, 

Its legitimate <lomain. ooven* all that ci 

li nor. tho pr ' «»f iht nat 

only tho pr 

of the people «j| n K- 

i<l.i»tifi.'l Willi tlf r jfit "I - II 



"'flu I. 

• tho 

not 



■ nM art iM " 



Ikr 






ik^ 



wlio hy their vote**. 
:i <\ in nil thfir ii 

political I 
the peoplo. in t 
all National ) 
8Upl>orto<l br _ . 

cnco of the i... 

It mii«' *'■• 
all the pM, 
in the WAs i uimt. 



>n ar<» 



Ah all 
t an 



ralitv. the 

IV. T i« nn.f.-r n !>. 



an«l 
It w 

the dii^nity and nablimo fuui 

eontine it to the i ' ' 

out of «»fflce, and 

Well ronstr «»l 

in-'Pal pr 

'• Rulers are the '»' 

of evil doers, and for the ] 

And since " there i!» no v 

< i "1;" andf(ii> 

iiit; •nntinuallv to be *• Miii 



III 1 





mntnolonl. 




•n nf 




W.V 


Lfi lllC 1 


U'JA, to 


- » * - - 


n into an 1 




irive on ll»c 


* 


■ • of 




..Ml ! 



of thcni that do weU. 

lit of 

»t pur 



pose and use of the Ballot Box. oujfht to be to place in 
j>ower. th«>se. and th€>$r o 1 ifiv- 

elfu irncy to the princi|>!. »n ?pi i ho 

promote all that is and exlir] vil, in 

society, or in civil (Jovernment. 

Senator M<«rriH j*aw its relationn and |x»wer to the 
dcit ruction of American Slavery, and pronounced ujnin the 
ballot box a noble eulogy, ll* -i'l tV..,t"Tho mural 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 303 

power of the ballot box is sufficient to correct all abuses." 
"Moral power must work by means; and the elective 
franchise is the great, if not the only means to make it 
effectual." " Political action is necessary to produce moral 
reformation in a nation ; and that action with us, can only 
be effectually exercised through the ballot box." " If the 
ballot box, then, is honestly and independently used, it 
alone will soon produce the extinguishment of slavery in 
our country. Eesist slavery by the ballot box." 

"It executes a freeman's will, 
As lightning does the will of God." 

The necessit}^^ of a new, and third party, to resist through 
the ballot box, the aggressions of the slave power, had its 
origin in the practice of the two great political parties in 
discountenancing all agitation of the slavery question. 
Their platforms, in both National and State Conventions, 
contained explicit resolutions against all agitation of the 
subject. The resolutions they adopted are presented in 
chronological order. 

The Democratic Convention that nominated Lewis Cass, 
of Michigan, for President, in 1848, put the following 
resolution in their platform : 

"1. That Congress has no power, under the Constitu- 
tion, to interfere with, or control the domestic institutions 
of the several States, and that such States are the sole and 
proper judges of ever}^ thing appertaining to their own 
affairs, not prohibited by the Constitution ; that all efforts 
of the Abolitionists or others, made to induce Congress to 
interfere with questions of slavery, or to take incipient 
steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most 
alarming and dangerous consequences ; and that all such 
efforts have an inevitable ten(]ency to diminish tlie happi- 
ness of the people, and endanger the stability and ]iorma- 
nency of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by 
any friend of our political institutions." 



304 LlfB of SEXATOB II O R ft I ft . 

The l>»'in ' •»» J"' ' 1 *•'»-' »'•' I ''f» Hr»l 

t and II' iiii r ul >kow Hump- 

bluro. I^r V i ^^ ' «»f Alahama, 

for Virr Vr ii Thai < the wimo 

rr^.-hiiioii oil tlio ftuhji*<'t '•" and lh«»M» 

ftdditionnl • 

*• /i/ .1 iho and 

u.i-i intended to «m ivcry 

agitation in < 

parly of the I'nion. m. 

will abide hv and :. of tho 

ArtA known a» the « . , ' : hv iho 

last '*■'• "rrv«i* — th- \'^ ♦' rthorv ... en from 

aerv.,. ..r ta)K>r. ......•.>: "^ich a* ; .- -"fMl to 

carrA* oat an exT -^ - : - n of the i >. can 

not, with fidelity lu ui n- pealed, or ^" Uiaii^Ld an to 

doKtroy or impair it.** <:' 

'•/f/. ■ T ■ I'Tty w»il rci»i»t all 

attoinpiJ« ul r< r Mut of it, the a^ita- 

ti'iioftli '-r^ ij •'• - :\'<'..r ' . lor 

the att4>ni|>tH may b« 

In Junr. 1K:»i». the !• ' ' in Cin- 

cinnati and nt n.oi i'cnnKvlvania, 

for Vr n C iin** kenr v, f-r 

\ <• l*rcMdont Thi» Con' the n- 

tions into their j m a« in 1*^52. with thc?»e a*: : al 

one« : 

•' 1. Rfsoh'il. That ( ip with, and dcair- 

ini: the co-operation of all who reeard the prwk'rralion of 
the Unif»n under the Connlituti^m as the parainnimt iniiu© 
— and repudiating all (HK-tional parties and jdalforniH. ron- 
ccrninir domestic slaver}-. whicl» peek to embroil the States 
and incite to treason, and armed reii-^'inee to law in the 
Territories, and whi»se avowed pur|>^-' if eon Hum mated, 
must end in civil war and disunion — the American democ- 
racy rocogniro and adopt the rrinriplet conUuii«d in tJM 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 305 

organic laws establishing the Territories of Kansas and 
Nebraska as embodying the only sound and safe solution 
of the ' slavery question ' upon which the great National 
idea of the people of this whole countr}^ can repose in its 
determined conservatism of the Union — Non-interfer- 
ence BY Congress with slavery in State and Terri- 
tory, or in the District of Columbia. 

" 2. That this was the basis of the Compromises of 1850 
— confirmed by both the Democratic and "Whig parties in 
National Conventions — ratified by the people in the elec- 
tion of 1852 — and rightly applied to the organization of 
Territories in 1854. 

" 3. That by the uniform application of this Democratic 
principle to the organization of Territories, and to the 
admission of new States, with or without domestic slavery, 
as they may elect — the equal rights of all the States will 
be preserved intact — the original compacts of the Consti- 
tution maintained inviolate — and the perpetuity and 
expansion of this Union insured to its utmost capacity of 
embracing, in peace and harmony, every future American 
State that may be constituted or annexed, with a Eepub- 
lican form of Government. 

" Resolved, That we recognize the right of the people of 
all the Territories, including Kansas and Nebraska, act- 
ing through the legally and fairly expressed will of a 
majority of actual residents ; and whenever tiie number of 
their inhabitants justifies it, to form a Constitution, with 
or without domestic slavery, and ]»c admitted into the 
Union upon terms of perfect equality with the other 
States." 

The Whig National Convention, in 1848, nominated 
General Taylor, of Louisiana, for President, and ^lillard 
Fillmore, of New York, for Vice-President. \ iiuiubor 
of the Convention (Mr. Tilden, of Ohio), otierod for 
adoption the following resolution : 

Resolved, That while all power is denied to Congress, 
20 



3u6 LIFE Ol' SENATOR MOREli. 

un.itT the f - to 

int. with tho j: ^■«- 

rul »t «■ ^^'*' 1 

anil it i« i*». ' 

or • in a: ^ or 

which may r Ih» ;. 

Thi« rf#iolutii»n wa.n r- : hv n vote of I 

tion, to b« put into the Whijj i 

In Ju!!' ^ '•'''* *^'<* Convrntinn 
T-' ! \N ...;.,.-. .->.*tl, Ol :^-A York, I'-t I 1 

\Wa.am H. (Jraham. of North rV'-linn f.,r i 

dent. That Convention put tho ; ^.i.^ ;«.- ..u..-;n intn 

tlnir Platftirm ; 

/' -«f. That the •^ ' * '^ '^ thirt* «-• <" - 

e act known ;. T.avi i 

an- n 1 »»* »>> J' ^^ i*»is' r*»"0 *^^ ^"*'' 

InitiMi - , »<» » • in p; 

of tho kMii ex - V.I.I. ii ; 

. an<t ^r nn they u we will nittiu- 

tain thrni. an<l inMHt ujH.n th«ir htrn t » 1 

time and . the i "f 

furllier . * 

the one hantl, and the si -^ on t 

not impairinir their y. i >*'•• de| 

all fului ^ 1 «'!' the «i . 1 »*» dan- 

gerouH to our pea - . i4n<l we will d all 

ctTorts to continue or renew »u<h _ n, ir/. .-, 

tclurrvrr, or howrvrr the attempt may be made ; and wo 
will maintain this KVHtem a** • -- ntial to the Nationality 
of tho Whi^ party, and tho ii.v.^. 'v ..f tV,.- T'nir.Ti 

This Hub^erviency of the twu ^«' .»i i'.»i <>^ - t>f the coun- 
try to tho slave power, having its increa-"- - ?• - - ' 'pment 
during the Senatorial term of Mr. Morna, ucuuin'icd tho 
formation of a new and third parly, to * nlaver)- by 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 307 

the ballot box. Accordingly, in 1840, the friends of free- 
dom organized themselves under the name of the Liberty- 
Party OF THE United States, A Convention was called, 
in April, 1840, at Albany, ]N"ew York, to discuss the 
question of an independent nomination of Abolition 
candidates for the two his-hest offices in our National 
Government, and if thought expedient, to make such 
nominations for the friends of freedom to support, at the 
next election. This Convention met, and nominated 
James G. Birney for President and Thomas Earle for 
Yice-President. 

In August, 1843, the Liberty-Party met in a mass Con- 
vention, in Buffalo, IS'ew^ York, to nominate their National 
candidates. Everj^ free State but New Hamj^shire was 
represented, and more than a thousand delegates were in 
attendance. Hon. Leicester King, of Ohio, an able and 
veteran friend of freedom, presided over that Convention 
of freemen. 

The Convention proceeded to nominate their candi- 
dates ; and James G. Birnej^, of Michigan, was unani- 
mously selected as their candidate for President, and 
Thomas Morris, of Ohio, for Yice-President. 

The following Platform was adopted, as the principles 
and policy of the Liberty-Party : 

1. Resolved^ That human brotherhood is a cardinal doc- 
trine of true Democracy, as well as of pure Cliristianity, 
which spurns all inconsistent limitations ; and neither the 
political party which repudiates it, nor the political sys- 
tem which is based u2)on and controlled in its practical 
workings by it, can be truly democratic or permanent. 

2. Resolved, That the Liberty-Party, placing itself upon 
this broad principle, will demand tiie absolute and 
unqualified divorce of the General Government from 
slavery, and also the restoration of equal rights among 
men in every State, where the party exists, or may exist. 



o.-,c 



LIFE OFHBNATOK MORRIS. 



f 






u^ nr»»i 


ol 


Uot- 


It 


the ] 




to 




ill 

•m, 
a) 


rtyV 


•arty 


• 

It 


not R 1. 




n\ 


hnm h 






u 


K.) 


. ..ire 



3. y; at th- I.ih<»r!v Pnrtv hil* n^t 
organ izoil for any tc ; , , ii- 
ticiariH. but hai» ari»<'n iVum ..:. ^ t!ir r. nplo. in conae> 
quenco of a convi' »»''" hour'v c ^r ! that no 
other party in »'• ..atry r. ^-.^ — '■?«• 
of Ameri' • ^ .-. <»r th« true ai'*. ..^i,;o. 
tion of the i .^latr- 

4. /^ t the l.ibcrtv-PartTli u 

•• -% .-» ■___ » 

\7 

ctfiFrl iiiu-i 1 

pi ■ ■ • 

p<»tifini ; but it will n 

rights into all itii ; 

and 

and I. 

5 A' 
party, but n Nn partv 

to ar»i»mj.lif*h : bnt in a mrnj ve 

ro^nl to the ii i»tr\*; is not a new 

parly, or a third party, but ij» the party of 1776. reririnj^ 

the principles of that niemnmb?r- rrn nr,.! Btrivinf» tn 

carry them into practical ap 

G. Rfsolrttl, That it was u;. .. .- • d in the tiii.. - - ; ;;.♦ 
Declaration of Independence and the Conntitution. that 
the exi?*lence of slavery in some of the States, was in 
deropition of the principles of American lilierty, and a 
deep stain upon the character of tt uutry : and the 

inipliiMl faith of the States, and of the .Nulioii, yxnn | ' -d, 
that hlaverv should never bo • I it*» iJien 

existini; liniitii ; but iv. mid. vet at no 

dii^taiit day. al- i by ^ :iuthoriiy. 

7. Ii !. Tliat wo bflu've ii •n and 
morality, to be the indinpoiLHablo HupportJ* ol :•. - <Ki 
government. 

8. /.' /. Tliat wo roL^ird voting, in an ominenl 
degree, a-- a mural and r as dulv, whicli when 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 309 

exercised, should be by voting for those who will do all 
in their power for immediate emancipation. 

9. Resolved, That we especially entreat the friends of 
liberty in the slave States to reflect on the vast import- 
ance of voting openly for Liberty and Liberty men, and 
to remember and adopt the words of the iilustrious Wash- 
ington, who said — " There is but one proper and effectual 
mode by which the abolition of slavery can be accom- 
plished, and that is by legislative authority; and this, as 
far as mi/ suffrage ici/l go, shall not be icanting.^^ 

10. Resolved, That it is a principle of universal morality, 
that the laws of the Creator are paramount to all human 
laws ; or, in the language of the Apostle, that '' we ought 
to obey God rather than man." 

In August, 1848, a Convention of the friends of freedom 
met in Buffalo, as the Free- Soil party of the country, 
opposed to the extension of slavery. This Convention 
nominated Martin Van Buren, of New York, for Presi- 
dent, and Charles Francis Adams (a son of John Quincy 
Adams), for Vice-President. The Platform of Resolutions 
was as follows : 

Resolved, That we the people, here assembled, remem- 
bering the example of our fathers in the days of the first 
Declaration of Independence, putting our trust in God for 
the triumph of our cause, and invoking His guidance in 
our endeavors to advance it, in opposition to the sectional 
Platform of Slavery. 

Resolved, That slavery in the several States of this 
Union which recognize its existence, depends upon v^tato 
laws alone, which can not be repealed or moditied by the 
Federal Government, and for which laws that Govern- 
ment is not responsible. We therefore propose no inter- 
ference by Congress with slavery within the limits of any 
State. 

Resolved, That the Proviso of Jefferson, to prohibit the 



3IU LIPB 


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roE 


Moa 






C.\ 












in tho 


U 












- X 


Si. 






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. 


r 


the 1 -«>, to thr 










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Ul: 1 to 

the 1 1. all ' j- 

cr to d of lifo, li or 

pi V. without 

/ . • in t' I rift ;. 

j^rt'HM ha,M no Uiurc ; . . n t«» mnko a 

kin^; no more power to in«»ti!n!o or • .-ry, 

than to inntituto or v- hv — n- . h 

power can bo found amon^ i ^ .lerred by 

the Constitution, or derived by ju«t imph .. . > fp. 'm them. 

Ret, /->./. That it is the doty of tho Fe<leral i i nmeni 

to rt..v .V itjkslf from all •--'■•-"*'■'■••• •" — •'■ - — --'r — - =r 
' "''nuance of nlavery, »^.mi.j.i.i uiai *iu\trii;utui j ->• 
.->. ^^, •» CVtnMitutionul authority to le^ttlate on that RubjtM t, 
and is thus ros|xjnsible for it« ex* * 

RrsoltY<l, Tliat the true, and, in lue judirmeni oi irus 
Convention, the only safe i - of preventini: the ext. m- 

Bion of slavery into territ«>ry now free, is to prohibit ita 
existence in all such territ<»rv bv an act of • 

Re$tthf(L, That we accept thr h the slave p♦•^v<•^ 

haa forced upon uh, and to their dtnuin<l for more slave 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 311 

States, and more slave Territories, our calm but firm 
answer is ; no more slave States, and no more slave Terri- 
tories. Let the soil of our extensive domains be ever kept 
free, for the hardy pioneers of our own land, and the 
oppressed and banished of other lands, seeking homes of 
comfort and fields of enterprise in the new world. 

Mr. Yan Buren, in accepting the nomination, declared 
in a public letter, " I have examined and considered the 
platform adopted by the Buffalo Convention, as defining 
the political creed of the " Free Democracy," with the 
attention due to the grave subjects under which it is pre- 
sented. It breaths the right spirit, and presents a politi- 
cal chart which, with the explanation I am about to 
make, I can in good faith, adopt and sustain. The pres- 
ent movement, in the public mind, said he, in the non- 
slaveholding States, upon the subject of slavery, is caused 
mainly by an earnest desire to uphold and enforce the policy 
in regard to it, established by the founders of the Eepublic." 

It is a singular fact illustrative of the changes that 
politicians have made on the subject of slavery, that Mr. 
Van Buren, once the idol of the Democratic party, and by 
it elected to the Presidency in 1836, and who in his 
Inaugural Address, discountenanced the agitation of 
slavery in Congress, declaring he would veto any Bill 
passed for the abolition of slavery in the District of 
Columbia, became the Presidential candidate of the Free 
Soil party, in 1848, and was the chief cause of the defeiit 
of Mr. Cass, who was the candidate of tlie Democratic 
party, then in unnatural alliance witl\ the slave powor ; 
and it is even more singula)*, that Mr. Yan Buren. and his 
friends in the great State of New York, renouncing their 
free soil principles of 1848, should, in 1856, commit them- 
selves, to a platform of principles, that gives no resti-ie- 
tion to the extension of slavery. Such changes in men 
and parties, are sad illustrations of the power of slavery 



312 Liri OF SSNATOE MOREIf. 

crrr tho bn^htoflt iDtt.. mort 
• n of our coiintrv 
f" - Jolt. I* If t New IT 1" !»«hire. one of tho 

eai.-i.nnd .,-.. ♦-- T U. • . to. and who. liko 

v^ \i ^..:„ linn. Ill I- ' • • •' ■ -lave powrr in 

lark- • ' ■■■' n wn* ^ ' the 

Inriia.-i ui ir< ill iu . . i 

and ' • ' • U J oi i uc i r» 

The i'i.. oii wi.iWt ihcy m u.al -' "< .- .i-> 

for 

•' Ihttt I n 

cnii ) t in th<> |H ut 

the truth that ^ 
by the total - 

slavery, and tho i and • 

tional 1 on the >- to the 

:. of 
fu. 

'* '1 .• in a 't 

man, the y of . r 

U!*a^c can make ritfht, and that Chr ttv humanitr. 

and patriolidm nhkf !* Tr-m ! its al- . 

♦•That the Ku. i i of 1850, i« rrnn^juil to 

the CouHtitution. t«. t»... principle* of th»» • n law, to 

th«^ -f'Tit of Chn '» ind to the '- of the 

ci^i.w.'.l world. Wo iiivi,i.»re deny a- imm-jiu^ f — >- 
upon the American people, and we demand itji immoiliaic 
and total roj* " 

'* Thut tin* ujitiinc that unv human iaw ii\ a hitaiiiv. 
and not nubject to ' i» nr r '. ii« not in :■■ 

ance with the crcvu ui ihc !• ' it* «»t our Govern UicuL, 
anil is dun "le lil ».l tho |h'(»{>1* 

On tho i«Ui ul June. 1 ri PI 'phia. iho city 

whore tho Drrlaralion of lniii'|H;n': was adapted and 

rt»ad. from iho f»topi» of the Old State il- v one of ita 

immortal Sj^^iure. to the multilu : to hear, 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 31 



o 



and who responded to its sentiments of liberty witli loud 
and enthusiastic greetings, a large Convention of freemen, 
met to nominate candidates, to represent the sentiments 
of liberty and the j^olitical policy, which the freemen 
and patriots of Revolutionary memory had roused, on the 
subject of slavery. Every Free State was largely repre- 
sented, as well as delegates from the slave States of 
Yirginia, Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky and Missouri. 
It was a great assemblage convened to promote a great 
and noble cause. This Convention unanimously nomina- 
ted John Charles Fremont, of California, for President, 
and William L. Dayton, of New Jersey, for Yice Presi- 
dent. The platform adopted by the Republican Party, in 
this important Presidential canvas was as follows : 

NATIONAL PLATFORM OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 

The Convention of Delegates having assembled in pur- 
suance to a call addressed to the people of the United 
States, without regard to past political differences or 
divisions, who are now opposed to the repeal of the 
Missouri Compromise; to the policy of the present 
Administration ; to the extension of slavery into free 
territory; in favor of the admission of Kansas ; of resto- 
ring the action of the Federal Government to the prin- 
ciples of Washington and Jefferson, and for the purpose 
of presenting candidates for the offices of President and 
Yice President, therefore, 

Resolved, That the maintenance of the princ-ipk^s \n'o- 
raulgated in the Declaration of Inde])endence. an<l embo- 
died in the Federal Constitution, are essential to the 
preservation of our Republican institutions and the 
Federal Constitution: the rights of the States and the 
Union of the States must and shall be preserved. 

Resolved., That with our Republican Fathers, we liold it 
to be a self-evident truth, that all men are endowed with 
the inalienable right to liberty an<i the pursuit of ha}>pi- 
27 



314 LIFE or nr?(ATOR MORRIS. 

nc«»i». nn«l that the |»rimiir an«l n of 

onr Fo«ItTal < '^ to all 

jv in itn • ' onr 

I{. M Fnthrn* hmt\ v in 

all oar Na; Trrr that M 

be flrrrivc<l of Hfc lilH»rty. or | T»ro- 

cc.-^ . .aw. it \h :..' ?♦ our «luty n 

in the r'..t...tiffiTi..n if»^inst rII nttrmptH to X ?t, for 

th© i"**^ , .; ' *' t .n tV<- T' . .-:ate«, 

by p'-iioo lr-- . y, • •'♦- ' "- ••*♦'•?!• 

aion therein, inai we «itiiji ii!«-- auiii- !mj> "i '*, 

of a Territorial Ix»ei^l«tiire, of any indiridual ur a- 

tion of in«li% ' * ' * * "lavcry in 

an%* Territory oi lUv i . ui*jio lae : nt 

Constitution i. 

/?"•'■■ ' 
hoveroiirn " the the L nited ."^ 

for thoir t. and that in the • of thm 

power it i« Inith the nn»l «lut} t«» |»ro- 

hihit in the Terr twin relica of 1 ii, 

poIvL'nmv nn<l - y. 

A'. i .t whilo the • the I': 

States was ordainod and f**- I bv the e in 

order to form a more p- I'nion. e««tabli*h justice, 

insure domestic trnnquillity. provide for thr imon 

defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blesa- 
inp* of liberty, anti contains ample provisions for the pro- 
tection of the life, liberty and property of every citieen — 
th© dearest Constitutional ritjhts of the people of Kansas 
have been frandnlentlv and violently taken awav from 

* • • 

them; their territory bven invaded by an armed force : 
spurious and pretended lepislative. judicial an<l itivo 

officers hayo been sot over them, by w] ' 

authoritv. sustained by the military power of the <»overi*- 
ment, tyrannical and unconstitutional laws have been 
enacted and enforced ; the right of the people to koep snd 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 315 

bear arms has been infringed, test oaths of an extraordi- 
nary and entangling nature have been imposed as a con- 
dition of exercisini]^ the right of suffrao-e and holdinir 
office ; the right of an accused person to a speedy and 
public trial by an impartial jury has been denied; the 
right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers and effects against unreasonable search and 
seizure has been violated, and they have been dejn-ived 
of life, liberty, and property without due process of law ; 
the press has been abridged ; the right to choose their 
own representative has been made of no effect ; murders 
and robberies encouraged, and the offenders have been 
allowed to go unpunished; that all these things have been 
done with the knowledge, sanction, and procurement of 
the present administration, and that for the high crime 
against the Constitution, the Union, and humanity, we 
arraign the Administration — the President, his advisers, 
agents, supporters, apologists and accessories — either 
before or after ttie facts — before the country and before 
the world, and that it is our fixed purpose to bring the 
actual perpetrators of the atrocious outrages and their 
accomplices, to a sure and condign punislnnent hereafter. 

Resolved^ That Kansas should be admitted as a State 
into the Union, with her present Constitution, as at once 
the most effectual way of securing to her citizens the 
enjoyment of the rights and privileges to whicli tlicv are 
entitled, and of ending strife now raging in the Territory. 

Resolved., Tliat the highwayman's ]>laii. that might 
makes right, embodied in tlie Ostend Circular, was in 
every respect unworthy of American di])l()niacy. would 
brino; shame and dishonor upon anv Government or 
people that gave it their sanction 

Resolved, That a railroad to the Pacific ocean, by the 
most central, practicable route, is imperatively demanded 
by the interests of the Avhole country, and that the Fede- 
ral Government ought to render immediate and efficient 



r 



316 LIFE or 8R?»ATOIl MORRIS. 

:.,.l to itK . V ihcWlO th« 

tho lin« 

nf •*»«» r. I 

(()(• 4 of • H for the 

iinpmvfniont <»r river 

ler. rcquinMl !• r the ^ 

cxifttiT^" '"H, . ,. arv ^ihtK i hy thr « » 

mnd jw ..... . ... the --^ - "^f '^»<* *' 

protect the live^ and ; 

Jirt ^ ' That we li.. r»n.^ rr» nr.rrntion 

of nivu ui toll |>:-*'^ h'>'*«» •" •• 

in ^ - ih© 1 - ^ n dccUr* ;, 

ttiiti I • iha; iiic .-piril ut uur iusniuii-'ii** •* well ftf 

the < of our < • ^ to iMi liUrlj 

of *il n><liU ' rili«4'ns, 

we o] 

The great in the 

n, or n 

Pul.lir I the ".r 

material ii ^ 

of the |x»lirv 

Tho Whiu' l-arty, « - a 1 ihd 

in'. no«v the ., 

have an«l i v. 

A new party. •! the At m. or Know 

Nolhinp party, a r . K»4, to - L'r.at puli- 

tieal influence, and ita polirv v on i e to 

Po|K'ry and the Catholic . a . '« 

|iy>lem. A National ('on\ :;..'n of thi« i^nrtN n.. i .it 
Philadelphia, on the 22d of February. . ■. and nomi- 
nated Milhird Fillmore, of New York, for rrewidcnl. and 

Andrew Jackson Donnelaon, of Ten?'* ♦••^ \ice- 

Prenident. It refused to take decided ^i ■-.... ..^...n!»t tho 

extension of slavery. an<l a larjce majority of the Northern 

dele^at eded. This purp<i»e to avoitl the abtforbing 

quefilion ol blavery. lo»l the party the prestige of iU 



; 1 1 < » 
iMntf, 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 317 

power in all the free States, and will, most probably, in a 
short time prove its political extinction. These facts in 
the history of parties, confirm what Daniel AYebster, the 
great American Statesman, declared in a speech made in 
JFaneuil Hall, Boston, in 1852. He said : 

" Kew parties may arise, growing out of new events and 
new questions; but as to these old parties which have 
s^^rung from controversies now no longer pending, or from 
feelings which time and other causes have now greatly 
changed or allayed, I do not believe they can long remain. 
Efforts, indeed, made to that end, with zeal and persever- 
ance may delay their extinction ; but, I think, can not 
prevent it. There is nothing to keep alive these distinc- 
tions in the interests and objects which now engage 
society. Xew questions and objects arise, having no 
connection with subjects of past controversies ; and pres- 
ent interest overcomes and absorbs the recollection of 
former controversies. All that are united on these exist- 
ing questions and present interests, will not likely weaken 
their efforts to promote them, by angr}^ reflections on past 
differences. If there was nothing in things to divide 
about, I think the peo23le not likely to maintain system- 
atic controversies about men. They have no interest in 
doing so. Associations, formed to support principles, may 
be called parties ; but if they have no bond of union but 
adherence to particular men, they become fiictions." 

The providence of God, and the dominant sentiment of 
freedom in the free States, i^roduced b}- the continual 
aggressions of the slave power, forced the issue on the 
American people. The South admits and accepts it. It 
says through its press : 

" It is vain to disguise it, the great issue of our day in 
this country is, slavery or no slavery. The present phase 
of that issue is the extension or non-extension of the insti- 
tution, the foundations of which are broad and solid in 



318 LIPE OP 


BBNAI^n MOIBIS. 






f.tir mirlHl. W 


the 




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the 




ttii "' •^^'•' 


t .. 












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• i all II 




"Ma .. ,. i ... 


t >• 


.> 






. > 4<iU. • • ". - — ■ 


i" 




Hi;,' I.*' ' ' u Hiai : 




As, ill •■ 




1 


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*" ' • aua 




-. it 


hiu. i 








it? 


It 




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and the r« 










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bv 

• 








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in ihoir /<v-'i/ . 








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it with 






are 


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tic«. hv thoir ; 


iu 


Ihcir 




. 



Thif* preat i*«*iio in-l 

di^nitv :i!»«l t 
the A an (iovcrnment and i , it tl. 

BclvoH. and all their iuntitiitinn«! nf t .._. 

and Christianity, to the n.. . . .. ' '^lavcr}' over 

the American « -.i.»M'.f«t r»r return I ■ i..» uQcient, and 
the only wise ait-. ... » ♦'•!• policy of the alat* -•■ • n 

and patriots of the i^^ «">ii ."H, to restrict and aii<-i 
slaverv. and direct all Constitutional and moral n t r 

« 

it8 final extinguishment — a cctnBumroation that w-^uiu be 
the crowning plory of the American nation, and remove 
the only hindrance to the j ' f and j-r rity 

of the country. The iU}>ui>ti«aii party. inviUu^ all 

of every party, and receiving it8 exi- and ;jrowth. and 

iti* present * and permanent poiiiaal influence, from 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 319 

an unalterable purpose to arrest the extension of slavery 
over the broad and free domain of the country, has 
intrusted to it this great mission of freedom. 

Thomas Morris, in this political and moral work, was 
early honored, with a prominent position. His stead- 
fastness, and loyalty to freedom and principle, secured, 
in the summer of 1841, his nomination for Yice Presi- 
dent, on the Liberty Ticket, formed by the friends of 
freedom, in the State of New York. This nomina- 
tion being only for a single State, he suggested through 
the following public letter, that his name be with- 
drawn, until a Convention from all the free States could 
meet and deliberate. 

Dr. Bailey : — Domestic affliction, occasioned by the 
illness of a part of my family, and which is yet contin- 
ued, has required my attention and presence within 
the family circle. I have thus been, in a good degree, 
prevented from noticing the important events that are 
almost daily taking place, in the great enterprise in 
which we are engaged, by endeavoring to restore to a 
large portion of our fellow men, their lost humanity and 
their rights, of which they have been robbed by sheer 
despotism. 

In this enterprise, my name has been i)hieod by my 
fellow citizens in New York before the country, in a very 
conspicuous situation, as a candidate fur the Yice Presi- 
dency of the United States. This n()ininali<.>n was n()t 
only unsought, but unlooked for, by myself; but 1 tan 
say, with perfect sincerity, that I then received it. and 
still view it as the highest honor ever conferred on me by 
any portion of my fellow citizens. AVas I desirous of 
posthumous fame, (which I believe all men are more or 
less) I had rather have my name inscribed upon the most 
obscure record of the friends of liberty, in the present 
struggle, than to be placed in the highest seats of power 



320 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

in opposition thereto. The liberty for which we contend, 
is that which like the Star of Bethlehem, leads to the salvation 
of men. 

As the progress of our cause and principles have been 
rapid beyond all calculation, (at least mine,) and as I 
know and feel that many men, far more able and worthy 
than I am, to lead in this noble cause, have of late been 
added to our ranks, though I can not admit that any are 
more desirous of its success and ultimate triumph than I 
am, yet I thought it due to the cause, and to the country, 
to afford an opportunity to all our friends to review the 
nomination. I, therefore, gave notice to our last Liberty 
Convention, at Columbus, that it was my intention to 
decline, and wait for further developments in regard to 
duty. 

I have, within a day or two past, seen, in some of our 
Eastern Liberty papers, remarks on the course I thought 
it my duty to take. Permit me to say to our friends, in 
every part of the country, that no abatement of my zeal 
in the cause of human liberty has taken place ; and that 
my hopes, and my expectations, Avere never brighter than 
they now are, of the speedy and ultimate triumph of our 
principles. I feel a strong desire, and I trust some faith, 
advanced as I am in life, that I shall yet be spared to see 
the day, when the soil of our beloved country, shall no 
where be cursed Avith the foot-prints of a slave. I shall 
then leave the world, believing I have left my posterity a 
legacy beyond all price. 

I would not have taken the step which I have, had I 
not fully understood that a General Convention of liberty 
men, from all the States, would be held during the ensu- 
ing summer. When that Convention shall have met, they 
may dispose of my name as they shall judge best. All I 
ask is, that the friends of liberty will believe me, when I 
assure them, that I am engaged in this cause, under a full 
conviction, that it is just and right ; and that on its success 



LITE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 321 

depends, not only the prosperity but the salvation of 
the country ; and no matter where I labor, my enlistment 
and my promise of service are not for years but for life. 

I write this hasty communication for fear a wrong con- 
struction may be put upon the position I now occupy. I 
hope soon, to find time to address the Executive Commit- 
tee at [N'ewYork on the subject more at length. 

Thomas Morris. 

Cincinnati, March 20th, 1843. 

He was renominated as a candidate for the Vice Presi- 
dency on the Liberty ticket, by the General Convention at 
Buffalo, August 30th, 1843. 

Ohio met in Convention, at the Capitol of the State, 
in October succeeding the National Convention, to ratify 
the nominations. After presenting the claims and services 
of James Gr. Birney, their candidate for the Presidency, 
the Address of the Liberty Convention to the people of 
Ohio, says of the candidate for the Yice-Presidency : 

" Thomas Morris, our candidate for the Yice-Presi- 
dency, is one of the oldest citizens of this State. Whether 
as Representative in your State Legislature, or Senator 
in Congress, he has ever been known as the fearless, 
independent, consistent politician. That most eloquent 
speech, delivered by him in 1839, amid the sneers and 
frowns of servile and slaveholding Senators ; in defense 
of human liberty, and in vindication of its advocates 
against the assaults of him, who is now the recognized 
leader of the Whig party ; delivered too, without a word 
of encouragement from those whose principles and 
characters he vindicated ; in the face of the polic}' of 
his own party, and with the certain prospect of losing 
its favor ; that speech, and the heroic love of liberty it 
evinced, have endeared him forever to the friends of 



322 LIFE or SENATOR MORRIS. 

freedom, Ohio will remember liereafter. with delight, that 
the only voice which broke the stillness of the Senate 
Chamber of the United States, for fifteen long years, in 
rebuke of despotism, was the voice of her undaunted son, 
Thomas Morris." 

Western Yirginia, whence Thomas Morris had emi- 
grated in 1795, had a Spartan band who held to the 
ancient liberty doctrines of Jefferson, and one county 
(Ohio), had in 1843, a Liberty ticket, and issued an 
Address, in which they speak of Thomas Morris as 
follows : 

" They have selected, as their candidate for Yice- 
President, Thomas Morris, of Ohio, a native of Western 
Virginia, who has been from his boyhood a consistent 
advocate of equal rights. This distinguished citizen, 
when a few years since, he represented the State of his 
adoption, in the Senate of the United States, stood up 
alone in that Body, uncheered by the sympathies of 
political associates, and unsupj^orted except by a noble 
confidence in the justness of his cause, to vindicate the 
princij^les of liberty, against the assaults of Henry Clay, 
who then stood as the champion of perpetual slavery. 
By that most signal service to the cause of the people, 
Thomas Morris forfeited the support of party, but endeared 
himself forever to the lovers of liberty.^'' 

The following votes for the candidates representing the 
sentiment of freedom, will show the progress of the 
part}^ devoted to freedom and the American jS'ation : 

In 18-10, seven thousand ; in 1844, sixty-two thousand 
one hundred and sixty-three ; in 1848, two hundred and 
ninety-one thousand three hundred and seventy-eight; 
in 1852, one hundred and fifty-five thousand eight hun- 
dred and forty-nine ; and in 1856, the date of the present 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 323 

writing, the free States are anxiously waiting to cast their 
hundreds of thousands of votes for the Reiniblican candi- 
dates, and confidently expect to carry the country in favor 
of freedom. 

"Who can tell how vast the plan 
Which this day's incident began? 
And it may prove, when understood, 
The harbinger of endless good." 



324 - LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS 



CHAPTER XXIIl. 

Territorial Expansion of Slavery — Missouri Compromise — Her Admis- 
sion — Agitation — Sentiments of Daniel Webster on the Admission of 
Missouri — Admission of Arkansas — Remarks of Mr. Morris, in the 
Senate, on the Admission of Arkansas — Republic of Texas — Remarks 
and Resolution of Mr. Morris on Texas — Acquisition of Territory from 
Mexico — California — Repeal of the Missouri Compromise — Agitation 
through the country — Manifesto of Chase and others — Ministers 
Remonstrate — The act done — New Territory opened to Slavery — 
Kansas — Its Slave Laws — Struggle between Freedom and Slavery — 
Results of the Expansion of Slave Territory — Shall Kansas be Free or 
not? — Its effects on Labor — Opinions of Slaveholders on Labor — Its 
effects on Society and on White Laborers — Slavery Demonstrated to be 
a Curse. 

The expansion of the area of slavery has ever been a lead- 
ing purpose with Southern Statesmen. The great motive 
was the increase of their political power, and its perman- 
ent supremacy in the Government of the Nation. Every 
new State added to the Union, not only aided in the pre- 
servation of a political equilibrium between the free and 
slave States, but continued to the slave power, its political 
ascendency. The Constitution provides that the members 
of the House of Eepresentatives, shall be proportioned to 
the free inhabitants of the States they represent, except 
that in each State, three-fifths of the slave j^opulation, 
shall be for this purpose considered as free inhabitants. 
According to this proviso, every five slaves are to be 
counted as three white persons. If by law, every sixty 
thousand free inhabitants may elect a Eepresentative, a 
district containing forty -five thousand whites and twenty- 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 325 

five thousand slaves, is by the Federal ratio entitled to a 
member. This Constitutional stipulation, has through all 
the political history of the American Government, given 
the slaveholders a prepondering weight in the National 
Councils. Hence the fact, and it is a political anomaly, 
that at the present time, the slaveholding interest, has a 
representation of thirty members in addition to the equal 
representation of the free inhabitants. This is a property 
Eepresentation — for slaves in the South are but property 
in the eye of the law — which is denied to every species of 
property in the free States ; and this fundamental law 
of the Government operates unequally. 

In the Senate of the United States, there is an equality 
of political power in the States, each State, however small 
or great, being entitled to two Senators in Congress, so 
that, a small slave State, like Delaware, has, in the 
Senate, a political power equal to the great State of 
!N"ew York, with her immense population and wealth. 
The preservation and the increase of this power in the 
Government, has been, and is now, the great motive that 
prompts the South to seek the extension of slavery. A 
brief historical expose of this extension is here presented. 

The first efforts, subsequent to the purchase of Louis- 
iana in 1803, from France, under the Administration of 
President Jefferson, made by the slave power, to extend 
slavery, was in the case of Missouri. In 1820, Missouri 
sought admission into the Union, as an independent State. 
Her Constitution admitted the existence and perpetuity 
of slavery ; and when she came to ask for admission as a 
new State, into the Union, it was earnestly resisted by 
the free States, both by the people and their Eepresenta- 
tives in Congress. It was a most memorable struggle 
between freedom and slavery, and agitated the whole 
country profoundly. After a postponement of a year, 
Missouri was admitted into the Union, on condition that, 
"In all that Territory ceded by France to the United 



326 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

States, under the name of Louisiana, which lies !N"orth 
of thirty -six degrees, and thirty minutes of North Lati- 
tude, not included within the limits of the State of Missouri, 
slavery and involuntary servitude shall he and is lierehy forever 
prohihitcdy The admission of Missouri as a slave State, 
under this compromise, was the first great expansion of 
the slave power. President Monroe, before he signed the 
Missouri Act, of 1820, required a written opinion of each 
member of his Cabinet, as to the proposition whether '' Con- 
gress has a right, under the powers vested in it by the 
Constitution, to make a regulation prohibiting slavery in 
a Territory." All the members of the Cabinet, including 
John C. Calhoun, and John Quincy Adams, answered in 
the affirmative. 

Daniel Webster, in 1819, drew up an able memorial 
against the admission of Missouri as a slave State, which 
he, and others of Boston, signed and sent to Congress, and 
from which the following extracts are taken : 

"Your memorialists would most respectfully submit that 
the terms of the Constitution, as well as the practice of the 
Government under it, must, as they humbly conceive, 
entirely justify the conclusion, that Congress may pro- 
hibit the further introduction of slavery, into its OAvn 
Territories, and also make such provision a condition of 
the admission of any new State into the Union. We 
have a strong feeling of the injustice of any toleration of 
slavery. But to permit it in anew country, Avhere yet no 
habits are formed to render it indispensable, what is it, 
but to encourage that rapacity and fraud, and violence, 
against which we have so long pointed the denunciations 
of our i^enal code? What is it but to tarnish the proud 
fame of the country ? What is it but to throw suspicion 
on its good fiiith, and to render questionable all its pro- 
fessions of regard for the Tights of humanity and the 
liberties of mankind. If the extensive and fertile fields 
of the Missouri Territory shall be opened as a market for 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 327 

slaves, the Government will seem to become a party to a 
traffic, which, in so many acts, through so many years, it 
has denounced as impolitic, unchristian, and inhuman." 

Arkansas, in 1836, was admitted into the Union, with 
a Constitution making slavery perpetual. Mr. Morris, 
was then called upon as a Senator of the United States to 
vote on the question of the admission of another slave State. 
His views are presented in extracts from his speech found 
in Benton's " Thirty Years in the United States Senate," 
" Mr. Morris," said Mr. Benton, "spoke more freely on the 
objectional points than other Senators. He said : 

" Before I record my vote in favor of the passage of the 
Bill under consideration, I must ask the indulgence of 
the Senate for a moment, while I offer a few of the reasons 
which govern me in the vote I shall give. Being one of 
the Eepresentatives of a free State, and believing slavery 
to be wrong in principle, and mischievous in practice, I 
wish to be clearly understood on the subject, both here, 
and by those I have the honor to represent. I have 
objections to the Constitution of Arkansas, on the ground 
that slavery is recognized in that Constitution, and settled 
and established as a fandamental principle in her govern- 
ment. I object to the existence of this principle forming 
a part of the organic law of any State ; and I would vote 
against the admission of Arkansas, if I believed I had 
power to do so. The wrong, in a moral sense, with which 
I view slavery, would be sufficient for me to do this, did 
I not consider my political obligations, and the duty, as a 
member of this body, under which I now act, clearly 
require of me this vote. 

" I hold that any portion of American citizens, who may 
reside on any part of the Territory of the United States, 
whenever their number shall amount to that which would 
entitle them to a representation in the House of Repre- 
sentatives in Congress, have a right to provide for them- 
selves a Constitution and State Government, and to bo 



328 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

admitted into the Union whenever they shall so apply ; 
and they are not bound to wait the action of Congress in 
the first instance, except there is some compact or agree- 
ment requiring them to do so. I place this right upon the 
broad, and as I think, indisputable ground, that all per- 
sons living within the jurisdiction of the United States, 
are entitled to equal privileges ; and it ought to be a 
matter of high gratification to us here, that in every posi- 
tion, even the most remote of our country, our people 
are anxious to obtain this high privilege at as early 
a day as possible. It furnishes clear proof that the 
Union is highly esteemed, and has its foundation deep in 
the hearts of our fellow citizens. 

" By the Constitution of the United States, power is 
given to Congress to admit new States into the Union. 
It is in the character of a State that any portion of our 
citizens must apply to be admitted into the Union ; a 
State Constitution and Government must be first formed. 
It is not necessary for the power of Congress, and I doubt 
whether Congress has such power, to prescribe the mode 
by which the people shall form a State Constitution ; and 
for this plain reason, that Congress would be entirely 
incompetent to the exercise of any coersive power to 
carry into efi'ect the mode they might prescribe. I can not 
therefore, vote against the admission of Arkansas into 
the Union, on the ground that there Avas no previous act 
of Congress to authorize the holding of her Convention. 
As a member of Congress I will not look beyond the 
Constitution that has been presented. I have no right to 
presume it was formed by incompetent persons, or that it 
does not fully express the opinions and wishes of the 
people of that country. It is true that the United States 
shall guarantee to every State in the Union a Eepublican 
form of Government : meaning, in my judgment, that 
Congress shall not permit any power to establish in any 
State, a Government without the assent of the people of 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 329 

such State ; and it ^vill not be amiss that we remember 
here, also, that that guarantee is to the State, and not as 
to the formation of the Government by the people of the 
State ; but, should it be admitted that Congress can look 
into the Constitution of a State, in order to ascertain its 
character, before such State is admitted into the Union, 
yet I contend that Congress can not object to it for the 
want of a Republican form, if it contains the great princi- 
ple that all power is inherent in the people, and that the 
Government draws all its just powers from the governed. 

" The people of the Territory of Arkansas, having 
formed for themselves a State Government, having pre- 
sented their Constitution for admission into the Union, 
and that Constitution being Eepublican in its form ; and 
believing that the people who prepared and sent this 
Constitution, are sufficiently numerous to entitle them to 
a Representative in Congress ; and believing, also, that 
Congress has no right or power to regulate the system of 
police these people have established for themselves, and 
the Ordinance of 1787 not operating on them, nor have 
they entered into any agreement with the United States 
that Slavery should not be admitted into the State — have 
the right to choose this lot for themselves. Though I regret 
that they have made this choice, yet believing that this 
Government has no right to interfere with the question of 
slavery in any of the States, or ^Drescribe what shall or 
shall not be considered proj)erty in the different States, or 
by what tenure property of any kind shall be holden, but 
that all these are questions of State policy, I can not, as a 
member of this body, refuse my vote to admit this State 
into the Union, because her Constitution recognizes the 
right and existence of slavery."' 

Similar views were expressed by John Quincy Adams, 

in the House. He said : " I can not, consistently with a 

sense of my obligations as a citizen of the United States, 

and bound to support their Constitution, object to the 

28 



330 LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 

admission of Arkansas into the Union as a slave State. 
It is written in the bond, and however I may lament that 
it ever was so written, I must faithfully perform its 
obligations." 

The next successful movement of the extension of the 
slave power, was the admission of the Eepublic of Texas, 
on the 29th of December, 1845. 

Mr. Morris foresaw, in the Senate of the United States, 
that the recognition of the independence of Texas had an 
ulterior object in reference to slavery. He said, in 1836, 
after presenting memorials from Cincinnati, requesting 
Congress to acknowledge the independence of Texas, and 
in answer to a Southern Senator, Mr. Walker, that " The 
recognition of Texas involved a question which did not meet 
the eye, and which was beyond the mere recognition of her 
independence — a question which would convulse this Union 
from one end to the others That prophecy has been fear- 
fully fulfilled. Since the annexation of Texas, the Union 
has been in a state of intense excitement, almost of con- 
tinued convulsion. That event led to a war with Mexico, 
and the war with Mexico resulted in a cession to the 
United States of New Mexico and California. 

Mr. Morris offered for the consideration of the Senate, 
the following resolution : 

" i?eso?t"C6?, That while we hail with joy the events in 
Texas, which seem to look to an emancipation in that 
country, we fear there is increased reason for believing 
that a desperate effort will soon be made by the slave 
power to annex Texas to this Union, and we therefore 
earnestly implore our fellow-citizens of every party to 
use all lawful endeavors to avert such a calamity." 

In 1854, another wide field was opened, into which the 
slave power might extend its dominion. The Missouri 
Compromise Act was canonized by a sacred compact, and 
by all the forms and sanctions of solemn legislation, and 
was regarded with the strongest affection by the American 



LIFE OF SENATOR .MORRIS. 331 

people, both IS^orth and South. This, however, was not 
sufficient to guard it against the covetousness and the 
aggressions of slavery. It was a restraint, a prohibition 
to the expansion of slavery, which could no longer be 
tolerated. The repeal of the Missouri Compromise was 
deliberately meditated, and deliberately done. In the 
month of March, 1854, the Senate, by a large majority, con- 
summated its repeal, and the House, by a decisive majority 
concurred, and the ajjproval of the President of the Uni- 
ted States, Mr. Pierce, completed its legal repeal. It 
opened an immense territory, a territory that had been 
for a generation consecrated to freedom, and ample enough 
to form twelve States as large as the great State of Ohto, 
to the evil inroads of slavery. The repealing clause of 
the Bill, designated as the Kansas and Nebraska Bill, 
declared the prohibition of slavery over those broad and 
fertile regions "inoperative and void." 

Mr. Chase, then a Senator from Ohio, with other Sena- 
tors and Eepresentatives from free States, issued from the 
Capital of the I^ation, a Manifesto to the people, warning 
them of the purpose of the slave power, and the peril of 
freedom. The public sentiment of the North was roused 
to active resistance, and numerous and large public meet- 
ings were held, to remonstrate against the measure, and 
to protest against the great wrong. 

^ The religious sensibilities and conscience of all Chris- 
tian denominations, were awakened into intense activity. 
The pulpit of the free States, as in Eevolutionary times, 
vindicated the cause of freedom, and denounced the 
measure as a wrong to Christianity, to humanity, and to 
the plighted faith and integrity of the nation. Three 
thousand clergymen of New England, representing the 
sentiments of their respective congregations, with their 
names on one large memorial, sent up their petitions to 
the Senate of the United States, against the act of repeal, 
declaring that it was " a great moral wrong, a breach of 



>32 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 



oo— 



faith, and eminently injurious to the morals of the com- 
munity, and calculated to bring down upon the nation 
the curse of God." Clergymen in almost all the free 
States, sent to both branches of the National Legislature, 
similar remonstrances. Senators from the free and slave 
States, charged all such clergymen with " prostituting the 
sacred desk to the miserable and corrupting influences of 
party politics;" of "neglecting their holy religion, and 
violating its x^rinciples ; " " as political preachers, med- 
dling with matters of which they were ignorant." Slavery, 
through the subserviency of :^orthern Congressmen, 
obtained the triumph, and the gate was opened for its 

entrance. 

The repeal of the Missouri Compromise converted 
Kansas into a field of contest between slavery and free- 
dom ; into a trial of the nature and forces of the two 
opposite systems. In this great contest, on which the 
entire nation looked with deep sympathy and attention, 
freedom, as it had always done, outrivaled the efforts of 
slavery — in enterprise, in numbers, in all the institutions 
of a Christian civilization ; and Kansas gave promise that 
freedom and its blessings should yet be the rich inherit- 
ance of the millions who were to live upon her soil. 

The time came for the Territory to assume an organized 
form of civil government. In the election of members to 
the Territorial Convention to form a Constitution, the 
settlers from the free States were driven from the polls, 
by several thousand men from Missouri, and no man was 
permitted to cast his suffrage, unless he would vote for 
making Kansas a slave Territory and State. The Con- 
vention elected were all, but one or two, pro-slavery men; 
notwithstanding the free State voters — the actual citi- 
zens of the Territory — outnumbered the pro-slavery men 

five-fold. 

This Convention, elected by Missourians, passed a Code 
of laws, marked by the greatest injustice and cruelty, and 



LIFE OF SENATOll MORRIS. 333 

which were (in Congress and throughout the country), 
denounced as a disgrace to the age. Tiiey enacted that : 

" Ever}^ person who should write, print, or publish any 
book, paper, argument, opinion, advice, or in words, cal- 
culated to produce disaftection among the slaves in the 
Territory, or induce them to escape from their masters, 
should be deemed guilty of felony, and be punished by 
imprisonment at hard labor, for a term not less than live 
3'ears ; and if he should publish anything even denying 
the right of persons to hold slaves in the Territory, he 
should be punished by imprisonment at hard labor for 
two years." It was also enacted, that — '• Every person 
w^ho should raise an insurrection among the Negroes ; 
who should aid in enticing away a slave, w^ith intent to 
procure his freedom ; or who should aid in enticing away 
a slave ; or who should entice and bring from any other 
State in the Union, a slave into Kansas, with the intent 
to set him free, upon conviction should suffer death." 
These and similar acts were passed by the Territorial 
Legislature of Kansas. 

Freedom, however, did not yield the contest. The 
interests and issues were too great to be lost, without an 
earnest and laborious struggle. The free and actual 
citizens of the Territory held their own election, and sent 
members to another Convention, to form a free Constitu- 
tion, and organize a free Government. Under this State 
Constitution, they organized and came before Congress 
asking admission into the Union. The House of Eepre- 
sentatives, by a majority of three, accepted of the Consti- 
tution, and voted to admit Kansas as an independent 
State; the Senate, however, rejected it, by a large 
majority. 

This contest in Kansas, between slavery and freedom, 
was marked by the most inhuman atrocities against the 
free settlers. They were invaded by armies from Mis- 
souri, and South Carolina : their towns were burned j 



334 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

their houses plundered, and their property destroyed; 
their printing-presses demolished; their free citizens, for 
defending freedom and establishing free institutions, were 
imprisoned and murdered ; and almost every act of injus- 
tice and inhumanity was perpetrated. In this great con- 
test the free State men stood firm, and acted and said — 
" Give us liberty or death ;" and the free women of Kan- 
sas, like their mothers of Eevolutionary memory, rallied 
with their husbands and sons, to the defense of freedom, 
and laid their offerings and themselves upon the altar of 

liberty. -* 

The struggle is still in progress, and the issue is with 
Him who ruleth among the nations ; and who created, 
not only all men to be free, but gave the earth, as a rich 
patrimony to men, to be cultivated as a free soil, and by 
free labor. Of Kansas, let every freeman ask, in the 
words of a poet. 

Shall the free winds, that sweep her grassy vales 

Be burdened with the groan of sad despair ? 

Shall the free waves, that wash her fertile shores 

Blush with the blood that runs from furrowed backs ? 

Shall her tall mountains, crowned with sparkling snow, 

Become red altars for the slaughtered slave ? 

Shall her green valleys be the early grave 

Of Freedom, or the cradle of the Free ? 

Shall her broad rivers, rolling to the deep, 

Shout Liberty's inspiring song for aye, 

Or slink to the old Ocean's arm to hide 

Their stains behind his ample cloak of waves ? 

Shall her vast plains and pi-airies, filled with flowers 

As glorious night is filled with gleaming stars, 

Be cleared, and ploughed, and hoed, and reaped by slaves ? 

Kot only Christianity, the genius of our free institu- 
tions and of the age, but humanity and the interests and 
dignity of Free labor, demand that the soil of our nation, 
every acre of it, should be preserved free from slavery. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 335 

Slavery is a system that puts dishonor and disgrace on 
labor, which has the seal of honor instamped upon it by 
the Creator j 

Tlie free States of the North, where free labor, has 
wrought out all their splendid achievements of enterprise, 
are described, by the Southern press, as " rioting in the 
excesses of an indiscriminate freedom, prodigal in liberty, 
bankrupts in law ; — where labor is elevated to political 
power, and enjoys the same political privileges with the 
capital that employs it." " All society," says a Southern 
politician, "settles down into a classification of capitalists 
and laborers. The former will own the latter." " Jf 
laborers," said Mr. McDuffie, " obtain the political power 
of a country, it is, in fact, in a state of revolution. The 
institution of slavery supersedes the necessity of an order 
of nobility." Slavery is by the South declared to be a 
" National blessing; " " a Patriarchal Institution ; " " The 
corner stone of our Republican Edifice." " In a few years 
the blasphemous Reformers, who curse the Constitution 
for legalizing, and the Bible for consecrating slavery, will 
curse Heaven, that it did not bless the North with African 
slavery, the only antidote to a crowded, motley, foreign 
and native population." 

Slavery is not only the antagonism of free labor, dis- 
honoring it, and the free laborers of the North, but it is a 
system that operates most injuriously and debasingly, upon 
the poorer classes of the non-slaving South. Of the six 
millions of people in the slaveholding States, and of the 
876,243 voters in the same section, there are but 347,000 
slaveholders, leaving 528,000 voters in the South, and 
more than five millions of persons, who have no personal 
interest or complicity with slavery. They are in the 
technical language of the slave system, the " Poor Whites 
of the South." Though not able, or not willing to be the 
owners of slaves, yet this immense preponderating poj)ula- 
tion of the sUivo States, are dishonored bv the svstem 



336 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

that surroimds them. They have but little influence in 
political affairs, and are so under the surveillance of the 
slave Aristocracy, that freedom of opinion is stifled, and 
an independent course of action prevented. Social as well 
as political disfranchisement, and debasement, is the con- 
dition of this class, who are numerous and worthy in the 
South. Schools for popular education, are not provided, 
and Free Schools, are unknown, and thus ignorance, the 
natural result of slavery, aids in the work of degradation. 

The soil also of a slave country, soon becomes, under 
the working of the slave system, unproductive. In this 
aspect it is a j^erfect contrast with the results of freedom 
and free labor. Consecrate a soil to perpetual freedom ; 
let the genius of freedom, breathe its air of inspiration 
and purity over the soil, and the soil under its power 
will produce an abundant harvest. Freedom will replen- 
ish, too, the waste and worn out soil, with a new life 
and a fresh reproductive vitality. Kot so with slavery. 

Governeur Morris, a statesman of the highest order of 
talents, in the Convention that formed the Constitution, 
in 1787, said, " Compare the free regions of the Middle 
States, where a rich and noble cultivation marks the pros- 
perity and happiness of the people, with the misery and 
poverty which overspread the barren wastes of Virginia 
and Maryland, and other States having slaves. The 
moment you leave the free States and enter the slave 
States, the effects of the institution become visible. Every 
step you take through the great regions of slaves, presents 
a desert, increasing with the increasing proportion of these 
w^retched beings.'' This contrast, ages of experiment, the 
whole history of the world, and the philosophy of cause 
and effect, confirm ; thus demonstrating, that slavery is a 
curse, blighting and destroying every true interest of a 
nation, and ought not to extend and establish itself any- 
where among a free people, or over a free soil. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 337 



CHAPTEH XXIV. 

Slaves brought to Ohio — Mr. Morris memorializes the Governor against 
it — Slaveholders in office in free States — Mr. Morris's views on it — A 
Judge refuses to license a colored Clergyman to perform the Marriage 
Rite — Mr. Morris obtains a writ to compel him to grant it — A memo- 
rial to the Legislature of Ohio, in 1844 — Extracts from a Letter — 
Appeal to Christians — Poem, descriptive of his course and principles. 

The Constitution of Ohio, and of all the free States, 
secures personal freedom to every slave, voluntarily 
brought by his master within their jurisdiction. The 
noble truth, uttered by Cowper, the Christian poet of 
England, is the doctrine incorporated into their charters 
of freedom : 

"Slaves can not breathe in England; if their lungs 
Receive our air, that moment they are free ; 
They touch our country, and their shackles fall. 
That^s noble, and bespeaks a nation proud 
And jealous of the blessing." 

Ohio, in her Constitution, does not jDcrmit slavery, or 
the foot-prints of a slave, to pollute her soil. ^Notwith- 
standing this prohibition, and in defiance of the public 
sentiment and moral sense of the citizens of the free 
States, slaveholders, in their social visits, or on their way 
to a Southern market with their slaves, have brought them 
into free States, and during their transit or stay, have 
virtually converted free into slave territory. 

The free States, also, not unfrequently, are represented 
in their State and National interests, by virtual slave- 
holders. Marriage, or inheritance, puts into their pos- 
session, or under their control, Southern plantations, well 

9Q 



338 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

stocked with slaves. Interest and sympathy are then 
transferred to the slave power, and thus Northern poli- 
ticians become the most subservient and devoted friends 
of the slave power. A ^^otent evil influence, from this 
source, has spread through the free States, and tended to 
vitiate the public sentiment of the North on the subject 
of slavery. In reference to these two subjects, connected 
with slavery, which involved the free States in indirect 
complicity with the system, Mr. Morris addressed a 
memorial to the Governor of Ohio, containing the fol- 
lowing sentiments : 

" The violation of our laws by slaveholders bringing, 
or sending their slaves into our State, is productive of 
more injury to, and creates more disgust and heart- 
burnings among our citizens, than any other violation of 
the laws known among us. Ought we not then to be 
protected by Executive proclamation, as to what the law 
is, and encouraged to carry it into faithful execution ? 
Ought not our people to be honored in securing liberty to 
every man upon whom our laws confer it, instead of the 
constant attempts to disgrace them, by heaping upon 
them opprobrious epithets, as " negro thieves," etc., to 
which the public press, if not the pulpit, sometimes basely 
descends. 

" For myself I go for the law, the whole law, and noth- 
ing but the law, in which the liberty of my fellow-man is 
concerned ; and as a citizen of the State I call upon its 
Executive officer to do the same. If we have no sympa- 
thy for the slave, no feeling for his sufferings, let us take 
care that a power, arising out of his condition, does not 
rule and govern us. To talk of security and peace in 
Ohio, while our laws are trampled under foot by the slave- 
hunter, is vain and idle. Even the slave-trade is carried 
on through Ohio, with entire impunity; coffles of chained 
slaves have landed on our wharf, while numbers are 
almost daily witliin our jurisdiction, on steam-boats, on 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 339 

their way to Southern markets ; and yet we talk about 
our opposition to slavery, while we permit the cursed 
traffic in slaves thus to be carried on in our midst ; and if 
any of our citizens shall inform those slaves, that' by our 
laws they are free, they are indicted and found guilty of 
riot. Call you this a faithful execution of the laws ? 

'' Permit me, Sir, to suggest to you the propriety of 
obtaining full and correct information on this subject, 
and give to the General Assembly such information, and 
recommend such measures to their consideration as Avill 
in future entirely prevent the slave trade from being 
carried on through our State. ]S'othing short of this will 
preserve the public quiet among us. 

"Another consideration I beg leave to mention. Ought 
not persons who own slaves in another State, be pro- 
hibited from holding any office in this State? Such per- 
sons are inimical to the principles of our Government, 
and it is solemn mockery for them to take an oath to sup- 
port our Constitution, while they are violating its very 
essence, in sight, probably, of the very spot where they 
take such oath. Is not the legislative power competent 
to prevent this evil, and cause our Government to be 
administered in good faith, and thus define our position, 
by which alone peace and good will can be restored 
between us and our sister slaveholding States? 'Let 
not them pass over to us for our hurt, and we will not 
pass over for their hurt, and then there will be no strife 
between us.' This is a consummation devoutly to be 
wished." 

An incident, illustrative of his sense of justice as well 
as his benevolence toward an oppressed people, is here 
recorded. A colored clergyman of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, applied to a certain Judge of a Court, in 
Brown county, Ohio, having proper jurisdiction, for a 
legal license to perform the marriage rite. The prejudice 
of the Judge was so strong against the color of the appli- 



340 LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 

cant, that in the exercise of his " little brief authority," 
he peremptorily refused to grant to the clergyman his 
legal right. Mr. Morris, perfectly conscious of the injus- 
tice and illegality of the act, took the case up to the 
Supreme Court of the State. There he obtained justice. 
That Court ordered a writ of Mandamus to the lower 
Court, to grant the applicant a license to marry those 
•who desired his services in that way. 

The following memorial was written in ^N'ovember, 
1844, a short time previous to his death. It was designed 
as a form for circulation among all opposed to the exten- 
sion of slavery, and to the exercise of its power in the 
free State of Ohio. It is brief and comprehensive : 

®;0 i\t f onorablc t\t Olmcral ^^ssanbln of Ibc %Mt of ^l^io. 

In approaching the Legislature^ we knoic that it is our Constitu- 
tional right, and lohile it is our desire respectfully/ to address 
the General Assembly, ice hope to do so in the language of 
freemen. We intend to mahe Truth our guide, Equity and 
Justice our object, and the Common Good our ultimate aim; 
and we ash Legislative action on the following subjects : 
We protest against the annexation of Texas to the 
United States, as unconstitutional, unwise, impolitic, and 
dangerous to the peace and safety of our country ; and 
we pray the G-eneral Assembly, without delay, to pass a 
resolution against such annexation, and transmit the 
same immediately to Congress. 

We further ask the Legislature to repeal all the Elack 
Laws (commonly so called), that are now in force upon 
the Statute Book. And we make this request, because 
those laws are of no benefit to the white man ; while they 
are unjust and oppressive to the black man, without cause. 
We also ask the passage of a law prohibiting the use of 
the jails within this State, for the purpose of detaining, 
in any manner whatever, any person who may be claimed 
as a fugitive slave. 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 341 

And wc further ask the passage of a law, punishing 
under severe penalties, any officer holding his office under 
or by the authority of this State, from aiding in his 
official character, in any manner or form whatever, to 
return or send out of the State an}" person who may be 
claimed as a fugitive slave. And further, to punish in 
like manner any citizen of Ohio, or any person within 
her jurisdiction, who shall aid or abet, (or who shall 
attempt to do so,) any other person to take or carry with- 
out the State, any such claimed fugitive slave, except the 
person be a citizen of another State, his agent or attor- 
ney, by whom the labor or service of such fugitive 
slave may be claimed, under the law of the State from 
which he or she fled, or by an officer of the United 
States. 

We have often heard it said, that " Ohio is a free State, 
that slavery does not exist here, and that we ought to let 
slavery alone." That Ohio is Constitutionally a free 
State is admitted ; but that many of her citizens and the 
administration of her Government is under the influence 
and control of the slave power, is equally clear ; that her 
citizens and officers ought to " let slavery alone," is not 
denied ; but as this is not the case, we pray the Legisla- 
ture to provide by law for the attainment of this desirable 
object. 

A distinguished laborer in the cause of freedom, and an 
Elder in one of the New-School Presbyterian churches of 
Ohio, in a recent letter, says of Mr. Morris : 

" My recollections of him are very vivid and very 
pleasant. I met him at several State Conventions, and 
always listened to him with great interest and profit. In 
those days, when politicians of all parties united in oppo- 
sition to the anti-slavery movement, it was as remarkable 
as it was gratifying to find one honest, earnest, influential 
public man, willing to lay himself upon the altar of 



342 LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 

liberty; and we young men could but respect and revere 
him, who almost alone made the sacrifice. 

" The last time I had the pleasure of hearing him was 
at Bloomingsburgh, Avhen with remarkable plainness and 
force, he called on professors of religion to wipe out the 
reproach which their complicity with slavery brings upon 
the cause of true Christianit}^; and I shall never forget 
with what feelings of pain and grief, a few of us Presby- 
terians met and discussed, what we hoj^ed would prove 
the initiatory steps to a complete reform in the Xew- 
School church. The death of the lamented George 
Beecher, which occurred soon after, broke up the Com- 
mittee, to whom the matters had been referred, for the 
purpose of giving them shape and direction. 

" His integrity of character, and devotion to the great 
Democratic principles, are worthy of all honor, and are 
unlike his compeers, who recognize, as do too many 
modern Democrats, only the doctrine as applied to classes?" 

The following poem, giving a just description of his 
course and principles, on the great cause of human rights 
and freedom, is here inserted ; it was written on the eve 
of his retiremetlt from the Senate of the United States, 
by an unknown friend, and addressed to 

THOMAS MOBRIS. 

Free Senator! accept the lay 

The unknown muse attunes for thee: 

Not for the valorous display 
Of martial feats and chivalry: 

Or for the blood-stained laurels won 
By knightly deeds of daring done. 

Not for the palm of high renown, 

The price of blood, and chains and tears ; 

Nor for the talents vainly shown 
In windy war with thy compeers ; 

But for a deed more nobly brave — 
The pleading for the outcast slave. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 343 

For this thy name shall live in song, 

If song of mine itself shall live ; 
And living, bear the meed along 

Thy deeds have earned, and faithful give 
To future time thy moral worth, 

When cold thy ashes rest in earth. 

And when thy proud compatriots lie 

Forgotten, 'neath the silent sod; 
And when their words and memory die, 

Scathed by the blighting curse of God — 
Thy deeds shall gain immortal fame, 

And men unborn revere thy name. 

Ah! yes, the ransomed slave shall bless 
Thy name, when thou art laid at rest, 

And pointing to thy tomb express: 
"There lies in peaceful slumber blest, 

'• The advocate of the oppressed, 

" Friend of the poor and the distressed." 

Intrepid Statesman! when the tongues 

Of Northern Senators were hushed, 
And despots triumphed o'er the wrongs 

Of minds debased and spirits crushed ; 
When even Webster's spirit quailed. 

And firm John Quincy's ardor failed — 

'Twas then thou rose to breast the storm, 

And throw thyself as in the breach — 
To raise the captives bleeding form, 

And with undaunted manly speech, 
To show his wrongs — the sighs and tears 

That preyed upon his soul for years. 



3U LIFE OP HE. NAT OK MORRIA. 

K : 

• aw*' • 



V 



I. 






AAd •UT«f7*i «^= -i «^ 



^ ...... . .^, 

-S^ r*i .1, 

Lrt Aerr iUk*ii and r«*r. 

A»«l , jfn — 

U aA<i aaftr Utrn — 

Bui 

IVjr cDaotrTt bir««infr r tb««: 

TM fr*^! hui Tu»e<^ ahAll rai«r, 

A: iky luuM villi Libert/:— 

For to! ihj K •k*ll ba 

RaiacJ ia the bcArtJ of » 'rt. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 345 



CHAPTEK XXV. 

Miscellaneous reflections during his Senatorial term — Calls on the 
President — The President's Levee — Bank Excitement — Removal of 
Deposits — Violence of Party Spirit — McDuffie's Oratory — Funerals of 
Members of Congress — Their pageantry and expense — Departure of 
the Government from Republican simplicity — Letter Writers at Wash- 
ington, etc. 

In this chapter the reader will find various extracts 
from letters written by Mr. Morris, to his eldest son, in a 
free and familiar manner. They are interesting as reflec- 
tions on the political condition and parties of the country ; 
and as the opinions of an observing man, himself a vete- 
ran politician of the times in which he lived. 



Washington, I^ovember 30, 1833. 

Yesterday spent most of the time in visiting the 
President and Heads of Departments, according to the 
etiquette of this city. I found the President (Gen. Jack- 
son), a man less in stature than I expected. The constant 
crowd around him would not permit any one to stay but 
a few minutes. A tedious and stormy session is expected, 
and party lines are to be more distinctly drawn here, if I 
am not mistaken, than in Ohio. It is said that more 
members have brought with them their ladies, than was 
ever known before. This, to my mind, shows they expect 
a long session. 

The Capitol is, I presume, one of the most extravagant 
buildings for the same purpose in the world, though both 



34^; LIFE or aCXATOR MORRIS. 

the H an«l r aro Mnall. and to ii.y 

mind. DOl V iU 1 have takm 

Mr i Mr M I 

am in the inid<«t of the Nii ^n U u|> n 

t. Mr (lav on tl. 

I or; bat ll. I »»v I 

trust I Mhall bo u : I . .. 

I truiit, nf't rivf •. r do a h act I ihoufrhl 

was Tint r i \cf\ Ohio 



Both iiuufica i > , ul i« u ciuck. lortuvd R QQOmin. 

In t' -^ nal4> R cj on the ^" ' ' ' 

which u 

wry \: U»c : ui«l 

t 

U iit-n lb' pre- 

h ' u 

them lo take :i our 

acat4) to ti Mr ('lav : that there 

\^ a" a 

J : hf wan awari- hut Im 

li t a« th»» two ! . 

J i ry to give 

either .^ we ha<l r i the cliair, 

Mr. l*«'iiidrxlcr mnvrrl that Mr. I « xrho was the 

fir>»t eU. .- -. *'•• T t., tike tli i ...-. motion 

brouf^ht on mi u Mr. Toindexter, 

Kinp. of Aii..-..i...., ' • '* ■ .. Wright, B«' * •• Cham- 
bers. Kw in i;. and M ': T :•-* It Uii < aiod that 
Mr. liobbinH hud bei-u i u) iuv Lc-i^luture of Khode 
I'^land. in January htJ^t. ana had obtained the ukurI cer- 
tilii; •• Int)' ' the! 'alun- |>; ' an act dedar- 
inif the K n oi !* ' ' - Void, anci pi '.-d lo elect 
M.r. Potter. L nder liivtsc circuiu iic question waa 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 347 

whether either should be admitted to a seat, until the 
subject was examined by a committee, and we had all the 
facts officiall}^ before us. 

I was much disappointed at the debate I heard. It was 
certainly much less dignified and orderly than I expected, 
and if I should say far less wise and forcible, I should say 
the truth. There was too much of the small arts of the 
County Court Lawyer in it. I know I have heard 
stronger and more orderly debates in the Ohio Senate 
than I heard to-day. The disorder of the Senate during 
the debate was surprising; Mr. Benton remarked, unusual. 



December 17th, 1833. 

Yesterday, the Vice-President (Mr. Yan Buren) took 
his seat in the Senate. You will see his Address delivered 
on the occasion, in the papers ; it was handsomely done. 
He is rather rapid in the dispatch of business, but will, I 
thii)k, preside with dignity. He is a fine, erect man in 
his gait, and is, I should think, about fifty -five years old. 
With all the hue and cry against him, I have no doubt he 
will be the next President. A majority of the Senate are 
decidedly oppositionists, and they have appointed all the 
Committees, bearing the same complexion. There has 
been some speculation here, that Mr. Webster is about to 
leave Mr. Clay, and join the Administration. I am half 
inclined to think so myself; but it will be done by degrees, 
and this session, I think, you may look for him between 
the parties. It is idle to talk of party spirit, in the Ohio 
Legislature, when compared with the feeling of the oppo- 
sition here; but they are entirely overpowered in the 
House. 

I am a good deal disappointed in the appearance and 
manao'cment of the g-rcat men. McDuffie is iar IVom the 
man I expected to find him ; he is violent in his gestures, 
and dogmatical in his statements. The Senate may well 



M8 LIPI OP 8EXATOK VOSmiff. 

be ■ 1. iht' a h nf iho < iMverunient, for 

it is t t h i hoiv that 

Mr I lod. 
I h<>j>c I. .- \h*' ; aniJ 

Is the p. Mr. Va: f. n. 

uiwl will !*:•• SvUftto (lc*tn»\ r 
< ;ijri<. . ' ^ 

A nun ;..... 'Ptinl to the Senate, all 

• " ' ' "• ■'! Uj i!i« ir 

lii'ii « i-iw.ii .it huninn 

in^cnaity \ sji iiivwii;:iipj as luajiy f - r 

thi* lavini; oui c; u. '' ' Uic LH<untv 

of ' a. 

i ! r icM thAO t) - 

1 y , liic i lunger. 



I (BBi 2lM. 1<13. 

I e^ 'to von. in - mv n^, that thu 

-N rtii an«l KiK*t w«n' -, 

whilo ih' .' I am htill in«'r*« nn«i fn«»ro, 

of that nr\f\ hcnr t 

you the : t of Mr N; ^ 

tone which it .. ^ ... i it upoAka the laitf^age of the 

S.iithern majority. We have her^ f» .rr. tf ,|^||| of com- 
'le niR"-'»- and di»»c«>r<!."iv' »nau...... i have far less 

i of a ... ' T'nion Iki. *' ■ *:♦..♦... \\\tin when I 

it 11 ii<jme. 1 hupv that I may, ut i-ji u un.- ■ :. 'iourna, 

find 1 am in error; but of this cver>' dav V t •\ 

ir thin Government will confine ita acuou wiUiiu mo 
hirict letter of the Constitution, and • even then, 

an little power ai< ]K>sfiil)!' :\» to fulbii U«c «: of the 

' itution. all will vel In.* well 

.M_\ fean* of c< ; are Mibsuliiii;, aa to the exer- 

li-*!' of the civil jwwen* <»l" thib (iovernmenl ' roaa 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 349 

Clin not 2)ut down the State authorities by the operation 
of hiw — that sentiment, I feel certain, is gaining ground. 
The States can, and will, govern here, if the}' make the 
effort, and are united ; and an attempt on the part of the 
General Government, to oppress any State, will, as every 
other act of oppression does, eventually create sympathy 
for its fate. 

Matthew Carey, in his Kew Series of the Olive Branch, 
tells the people of the South, that he would willingly part 
from them, if the tie could be broken without shedding 
blood ; that, although the course they are pursuing is an 
evil to the country, yet their separation would be a still 
greater one. 



December 24th, 1833. 

I mail you the Telegraph, of this morning. You will 
see renewed evidences of the bitter feeling of the ^N'ulli- 
fiers, in that paper, and in McDuffie's speech. With him 
the Bank is everything, and the Government nothing; 
Biddle his idol, and Jackson his Devil. I went into the 
Hall of the House on yesterday, while he was speaking. 
You know that the members sit with their hats on ; but 
one-half or more, had left the room. 

McDuffie is not the orator that w^e used to think he was. 
While speaking he throws his hands very awkwardly, 
picks up and then puts down his handerchief and papers 
before him, has rather a squealing and disagreeable voice, 
is small, and leans forward. If he is the great intellectual 
champion of Nullification, I think its props Avill soon give 
way. 

I have as yet sat still in my place. T am endeavoring 
to learn w^hat sort of stuff the Senate is made of. I have 
heard some speeches here not so good as I have heard in 
the Ohio Senate. The Eeporter here makes the speech 
as printed. It is delivered not half as correct, and 



ViO Lire or siNATOR Monmi. 

frvqocDtlj 80 low a« tu uv scmroely audible. I Mt ncAr the 

«- * r of the - n, an«l I «..ti'' * ^'^ 



The Bank and Bank men an* in tl Wo 

hear iheir • do. The H av© 

n. Mo J 



both ; and pr 



»l a I re|iii ., 



T hnr** j- .. the Vr I . 

.»l i* 'vn* :r trt hr thefv, to the 

J*r« = at it mmit b<" fi . . . .i I thouet>t 

was hi«* «irtinti.,n • .inv I difu^ with h..*. 

his V. ... ..«., ; ••» «^'»»%* ran 

leave mm ihey | It ?- • • '* .iM*^i!i»ii-ii vuul men 

here are ••- — •cr .i ^ — 

The J ■ "* " tiua u- vt*» ill u uuxj"ril\ iii iiie 

Jl«' j*ritcnd to u j.nii a on 

th«- 1' -hut thin ia it ia 

plainly j Uiat tl. -to 

AA luucU ex Sit* \ 111 order lO 

a c<»rr n lii- ntry, in 

i that n •«tate ot be | 1 

ter- for the |i m- 

l>li.'i >viih. ilie 1 .-ir only hope. 

They act in y** plan of 

which in no doubt .ic mind, in 
prepartMl by the 

-Mr r . hiH reply t.. .M. Dullio, 

in the li !• ! >>e a most trinniphanl refutation, 

and will comj ..caiethcP; nt and Secretary 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 351 

in the removal of the Deposits. It will disabuse the 
public mind, and set matters in their proper light. But 
this is to be procrastinated by the arts of the Opposition, 
as long as possible. Never has any curse fallen on this 
Eepublic equal to the Bank. If it triumph now it will 
rule for ages. I trust the majority of the House will 
stand firm. Should corruption find its way into the 
Capitol Gen. Jackson will be found safe. But I do wish 
and hope the venerable chief will be spared this further 
ti'ial. 



January 3d, 1834. 

Col. Benton is now engaged in replying to Mr. Clay. 
He has so far, in my opinion, completely prostrated all 
the arguments and assertions that have been used against 
the President and Secretary, on the removal of the 
Deposits. He has stated some facts showing the most 
unjustifiable and illegal conduct of the Bank, and which 
ought at once to close the mouths of its advocates. 

One of these facts is, that the Bank had issued orders to 
its several Branches, to dishonor each other's notes ; that in 
fact notes on Branches have been received on account of 
the Customs, and refused by the Branch where the Cus- 
tom was collected; that individuals owing at Branches, 
could not pay their debts with the notes of other Branches ; 
that this order had been lately issued, and this is one 
cause, and among the greatest, of the pressure upon the 
money market in the commercial cities. The Bank and 
its friends are no doubt doing all in their poAverto distract 
the country. 

Col. Benton has given notice, to-day, that he will offer 
a resolution to call President Biddle to the bar of the 
Senate, to answer under oath, together with others, res- 
pecting the conduct of the Bank. This resolution will, 
no doubt, be offered, and I can not see upon what princi- 
ple the Bank-men can vote against it. It will be a sc^ne 



35S 



LIFE or ME^tATOR MOREI8 



^ VVii Cjr • Will ho 

( (#1 11. ii ts are id 

Invor ol it, that Mr ^V r i» • iho W c»l , K 

iniT. I' -^I r ^ -^i' Hur o. and the 

« n or r ! havo 
mu< h 



'I 



( 



ir.dav. It -. 
hilt I •>ntainin^ :i 

f- It will : 

Moil vi r-cn»<* !*■ 
I visited the- i 
good heart. V 

r • 

ti-ii. Aittl 1 • 



if 



n<»t m«iro 



in the >. 



•-til and . 
uav Ur 

Ml \tt 

W 111 

he b 



Jam AR'i - I 

not in fh<» 1< 

«Ki h in '^ i k 

lorv and theatrical one : 
• nnt to every ATrsrHmn 

- >'V the N .., .... 

• .!finn it. 
, u«_ i:* iii iti, and in 
a;iu ireah a* : - ^ of 
' , in hi}« a ra- 

day. It any of the 
». a usurper, a 
and totally 
the hiind laea 

in ti ttc. aa to 

■ r in loflt on 
. few Bank 



tyrant, a vi 

;fnnlii law. he h- 

of hi!» own mind Indred this . 

what ) But all thii* t 

the >\.. .f the « •!. or only » 

dependent** thai Mirrt>und \hv Ha. - 

I am fearful we shall not adjourn before next harvest. 
3Jr. Web>*ter Miid on j-e^terday. that w© oof^ht not to 
adjourn until we did f«omethin^ to regulate the currency ; 
that a Bank of nome kind muHt Ik* T - ^ that for his part, 
he was in favor of a re-charter of inv j^resent Bank. I 
thought when he Raid it, and 1 atill think, if wu ntay until 
that time, wo shall not be at home al\er the fourth of next 
March a rear. Indeed. I have but little doubt, that in 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 353 

five years time, Congress will continue in session the 
whole time after their first meeting, until the end of the 
two years, unless the people and the State Legislatures 
express themselves strongly on the subject. 



February 7th, 1834. 
I have just returned to my lodgings, from the Hall of 
the House. The long agony is over. The House has 
taken the vote on the preliminary question which has 
been debated for more than two months past — 130 against 
the Bank, 98 in favor of it. The country now I think, 
will settle down ; and men, instead of depending on bor- 
rowing, will look to their own industry for support — at 
least it ouo'ht to be so. 



February 13, 1834. 

I have just returned from the funeral of Judge Boulden, 
of Virginia, the successor of John Eandolph in the House 
of Representatives. The time, place, and manner of his 
death, you will see in the Telegraph. It is an extraordi- 
nary circumstance, and one no doubt, that will cause 
considerable political speculation. 

The manner of burying a member of Congress here, is 
a piece of vain pageantry, costing I have no doubt, not 
less than ten thousand dollars. The ver}' hacks that 
went out from the Capitol to the gravej'ard (I have no 
doubt), will amount to more than five hundred dollars, 
paid out of the contingent fund of the House. But so it 
is, and so it will be, till the people of the States are more 
attentive to what is done in small things, as well as great. 

Bank petitions from the cities still come in ; the coun- 
try however, is on the other side. Some of the opposition 
papers talk of a civil war. Yes, even in the State of Kew 
York, is this vain and wicked threatening made, when 
30 



SB4 Ttrr nr "jrvATnn Mnmi!^ 

ih^ir own I ;»ture, by m«»r<» than two to one, toImI 

h ! th€» n*U>nilion of the I' i a re: ... oi" 

t' ' . ■ 



Wcha.* .... ' ^ »• »omt .. .,^ ^ ..in the 

Hank GeDlrv i' "' *" •""■" ■»- ^ l^ ♦»•'■! !<••>- 

of thonwir ' * •:• 11'..* .ir ii'mm 

of the J> « ' »n«yl\a.ji:a Wiu DO d ■ . urm 

' '^' * "* .. a i uvi:cvc a 
li arc lor ll \ 

i i 

ooald 

I: • i 

t 

now I 
of th^ n 

favor Hank fVn» I Hv \\m 

ord^r, and «rnt li- 

of i^.-T '• ihii« th- ' Tn .f the 

ofRi . . . ...o IT *-• ^^^^ ' Ihythcfmnk, 

amonnt to mar ^ h th" Tl""- ^^"»»* 

dcfraudu the |> '- ^ " .... .o 

arc a niimWr <'t "'i by «ich 

TT who fold iiiomcinberp, 

Mh'i a pMim * ajuioi x>>r that purp"*" 

Thin i«i whal i utvau hy the 1- 1 it in thus 

pro!*titutod • th*« Uaiik. 

I > . il ;.' I arc making; 

in favor of tho iiank; it ha« j 

effect. If th*- re callt'd to art in iial 

1 »n. under tho present e> ol I :. it 

would, in my opinion, be d- A if the Hank would not 

be unstained. It ha« evidenced much prudence and fore- 
eight in th« President, that the has been brought 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 355 

on now by a removal of the Deposits. The public will 
have time to examine, reflect, and judge; and they will 
discover in time only, the dangerous power of the 
Bank. 

Mr. Wirt, late Attorney General, was buried to-day. 
He died the evening before last. He had attended Court 
until a few days before his death. 

From all I can learn, there appears to be no doubt, that 
Yan Buren and Johnson are to be taken up by a National 
Convention. They will succeed. 



March 1st, 1834. 

A rather unpleasant and curious circumstance took 
place in the Senate, yesterday. Mr. Poindexter had made 
some serious and unfounded remarks against the Secretary 
of the Treasury, saying, that he had issued an order to 
remove a million of dollars or more, from the Bank at 
Natchez, which had been deposited on account of the 
United States, to New York, to prevent the Safety Fund 
Banks, in that State from failing. Mr. Forsyth received 
from the Treasury department, a certificate, that no such 
order had been issued, or even thought of, and he charged 
the matter home on Poindexter, by telling him on the 
floor that he had stated a falsehood. 

Poin in a passion, demanded to know if Forsyth 

intended to impeach his veracity, saying, at the same 
time, no man should do this but at the hazard of his life. 
Forsyth, w^tli much dignity, said, '-what he had said was 
said; he despised the threat of the gentleman, and would 
not answer his questions." You can easily see, in what a 
position this answer placed the parties. The Senate, 
however, before they adjourned, and with closed doors, 
had the matter compromised, much to the satisfaction of 
both Poindexter and his friends : for he found in Forsyth 
he had caught a Tartar. 



r?" r: Llf* or ,» s \toe jin nni* 

M Knm I'ith 
^V fr W 

stay hert* ttnt-! ♦* the Hnnk 

roaiit ^' . by r 

tinjc ^'^* • '»r 

it... .1 iho 

dJUliLt ) ?IJil- iiiii i>'iii iiit'i ii'>i 'tiikv ~ti.»tl QO vOv 

worW 

Mr. Li;i r twu si: 

iMMiplc wouiU And ri-iuuu 

»t: I, It Id 

rwwrt t tiiat 

lli 

had umhI - 

Itntik I U 

Ah fiir «• I '» »* nnw ht'irnti 

in t). 

be «• •• A ni'W 

el'. :«ff. 

And :... i aey i.. - and hope 

9\*Ji ill . 

M.Mi a, 1H34. 

Mr \V('(»Hior h: ' • bill to exuiiU the Bmnk 

chnilcr »ix N i Uv «. * l«» inlr ' 

it; a <»!» iUv lull ■ «'<1 i« 

lav ) the t %• ol' an tric<l l«i kin'p it 

u|» !<'r 1. 

T! 
they hav« that no one l<>r it, and 

now whrii ] (ipiiiion ai^aiiiHt the Hank in roniin^ in 

frt»m aim .ory c|iiartor. in i»Ufh e no 

d«»ubt that the cuiinlrv will Hustain tho Vi t. their 

own cTie« of di«*tre}»s will not avail them. The Virginia 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 357 

elections come on next week, and no doubt is entertained 
here but they will sustain the President, and that Mr. 
Hives will be returned to the Senate next winter. 

Pennsylvania, too, will be found against the Bank. 
Eesolutions to that effect have already passed the Senate, 
and no doubt will pass the House; a sufficient number 
of States in that event, will have declared against theEank, 
to carry the next Presidential Election. The Bank men 
may hang their harps on the willows. 



April 29th, 1834. 
ISTo possible good can come of this session, is now 
admitted by all parties here ; yet we are to be kept in 
Session by the majority of the Senate, for the purpose 
of producing effect on public opinion, which is to operate 
on the next October elections, in some of the most impor- 
tant States. 



May 20th, 1834. 

Though the Bank party here are still apparently in 
good spirits, yet it is evident their cause is on the decline, 
in every part of the country. The whole object seems 
now to be, to induce some friends of the Administration 
to propose to the present Congress, a bill for a new Bank, 
and have hope that the scheme will come from R. M. 
Johnson. If the Col. should take this step, it will, in my 
opinion, prostrate his hopes in the Western country. 

The investigating Committee have not yet reported. 
If the American people can submit to the conduct of the 
Bank toward that Committee, they may well be considered 
not only slaves, but fit slaves of the Bank. 

There are more falsehoods fabricated here and sent 
abroad by letter writers, than from any otlier spot in the 
IJnited States. They are a set of hangers on about 



LIPt or »K?(ATOR MOBBIl. 



iu^■y arc • 
in the • 

of U 

I hav4« I 
iiiL' t 
w. , that 

n. 



•ods. 

ne m in fa^'or 

far 



f n-1 .1 but it 



r of I 

i" ii'a!i_> ijino hundred 
, I r- '■ - ^ • . -he 

* ^ iuai;uuca uiiiur huch 



y mmlien i« ^ 
the fare of t). 



Ih J d< 

resuiU Can Ui;4i < 

at • TV r. < 

O 

iUim :)t in 

Corrupt ii 
w . 

th in the - 

tho I 
of tho ' 

character will n-^t tn 
nuMit in T' 

b\ n o? ^ orao amaiirmmn 

and in this < ^ n I knntr I nm r.-.t r»' 
the mn^t »Mih*»r : u in • 

\Vc aro n<»w i4« ... i. flli, 

done anything but v. • '- 



from 



in th^ir 



\ror of 

• for 

It t-h 

n 

a- 

er 

! them ; 

^tany of 

r% 111* ftamo. 

. V. iihout having 

No newt vet 



from France. I am fjunatiu uic cuuntry will nuRtnin the 
Pr ' nt, in hi** j-' ^t Frnnf<». thouf^h 

I woUiii willingly : some* 

th 'it to " uur I Am 

for a nou iiU' Act. Ihui, I think wiii do tor the 

present. 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 359 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Extracts from Various Speeches — Extravagance in Public Printing — 
Contingent Expenses of Members of Congress — Cost of their Snuff, 
and Horse Hire, etc. — Speech on the Safe Keeping of the Public 
Moneys — Extracts from it — Its Just Views — Speech on the Land 
Bill — Speech on the Ohio and Michigan Boundary Line. 

As a Senator in Congress, to whom was intrusted, in 
part, the special interests of Ohio, and the common 
interests of the country, Mr. Morris felt his responsibili- 
ties, and was active and faithful in the discharire of his 
duties. His manly position and defense of freedom, and 
his vigilant labors against the aggressions of the shive 
power, did not exclude from his attention other important 
interests of the country. As an independent politician 
and legislator, he acted, and voted, in the Senate Chamber 
of the United States, on all subjects, in accordance with 
the matured convictions of his judgment. A Democrat 
from principle, and not for party — he was always found 
advocating the doctrines of Democracy, on the great 
financial questions that came uj) for examination and 
settlement. A Southern Democratic Senator, in familiar 
greeting, said to him — "Morris, you are right on all 
subjects hut slavery y 

In this Chapter will be found extracts from various 
elaborate speeches he made on the Currency of the Coun- 
try; the Land Bill ; the Boundary Line between Ohio 
and Michio;an : and on the Extrava^'ance of the Covern- 
ment, in the use of Public Moneys. They are worthy of 
the reader's attention. 



360 



LtrS or liCNATOE MOSlIf, 



Mr I 



that 



in 1 



'A 

III 

n 



Mr 



uiitrv Thf» 
>v or tw 

nl UkMe u -^ .. 
♦1...-^ the 



II 
oi a 



in 



r.f tK 



the fvnintrv n 



.1 1 1' I 14 II I <i *'* 

I .1 t 



.tr \ iv u^ aitu 



r oi i.on- 
fttifl if 

I. 
d 

11- 
A " -I 

lU or that of 

fi I' ir. h\ h 

< t*» T .U 

ir 

cl 
. led 

- !'- i ..- and 
i'Ut ho had 
public* liody, 
uii-.i (iujit-nt (-alt'ulat4^d 
t individuals 



P' 

SiH 11 » Jill I < 

onlerinp tho j»riiH 
to prtui! ' ' 
and I 

" '1 It^' hi : Itc well knew it. lho«H* i'ubiic IKh'U- 

mcnt8. prinioi li\ ifivi i if the thirty 

tl Sail l>«)^ullu•nt^ niiouid \tv prinUsl, not 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 361 

one-third of the members of Congress themselves would 
read one, and they would he read by a far less proportion 
of the community at large. There w^as another objec- 
tionable view of this matter. 

" These Books and Documents were always made with 
u professed view of circulating information among the 
people. And how was this done ? Vfe tax the people at 
large, say two hundred thousand dollars, yet books and 
papers when printed, become ipso facto, the private j)rop- 
erty of the members. A fair division of the plunder, he 
admitted, was always made. The members could either 
sell them or send them to their friends, as each one 
thought best ; or leave them in their boarding rooms, to 
be used as waste paper. 

" These documents were frequently printed for political 
effect; for the purpose of advancing the private and polit- 
ical views of individuals, and he did not believe that the 
people would be willing to be taxed for this purpose. Let 
any Senator collect together one hundred thousand of his 
constituents, and inform them that he would lay and col- 
lect a tax, to which each should contribute tifty cents, and 
that with this sum of fiftv thousand dollars he would 
cause to be published, thirty thousand documents — these 
British documents — and that he would select thirty thous- 
and from among the number, to whom, if it should suit 
his pleasure, he would bestow as a gratuity, and under his 
own frank too, one coi)y each, to become the private 
property of such individual. He did not believe any 
portion of the American people would consent to be taxed 
in this manner, and for such a purpose as this ; yet such 
were the facts in the case, and such tlie results of voting 
books and documents to ourselves. We tax the whole 
people, and then put our hands into the public Treasury, 
apply the tax to the purchase of books to distribute 
amonc: our friends, which may enable them to sustain us 
at all future elections. He would much rntber lot the 
31 



3^2 1. IPX C>r tKNATUft StUKKll. 

dAv tb'"*"'"'? H''^'*-« whirV ♦^** prinling of theM booltt 
would i. M. th«» j- .».t«of th© people, to pur- 

■ . • .n i- '^-'^ 

<» j»ro« 

• hi»r; The 

h h»d latoly taken placo 
WM a part «nd 
inl at per : 

•f Xa 

but in 

f of -n of the 

•ir 1iii»t ♦ f?: 

: <f»<i trvrmty-heo t 
,,. rt« f ^.* I'-.^^nrr emts ** con- 

...eMiine >»* . n. wmM 

• ' • tttnthf rrmW ^ - nn of common 

an«l . • • , uvor the itcmi to 

up tht?. V I oi . ''.r the 

mere of i' '*t feel 

amazed at the y of men in to 

ihc J H. "vrr the 

and • ^ 

rtv-ninc «i and tirty centa for wiw/f, 

and on.' ih i :r.. I :" '-v • r..- -i. iinr* !' t 

' < ' (>>r th • '^f B'^pr •> 

hii! . lii.l an ht^lrr; in the ^ o 

:' r the same hire, one th«)a*»and six hundrc<i and thirty- 
three dollarn. It would fM*em to a plain, npricht man. if 
he wure informed that this sura ^f three thousand two 
hundred and scventr-fbur dollars and ninetv-two cents 
fbr korm-ltirt, and lhre« hundred and fourteen doUart for 



f 




] 


ul It 


lh*« 


• 


vorbial. 


atid 


intr 




n 




* 




J 


i in 


«■ 


nnd 


cr> 




■ What V 


other TTi 


r.nso r<f Pr.n 


245 M 


I 


I. _ ; . / 


.« M • 



LIFE or SENATOR MORRIS. 363 

an hostler^ was expended during one session, that this 
Congress actually legislated for the greater part of the 
time on horseback. Sir, it is mockery, cruel mockery, to 
talk here about favoring the laboring classes, the agri- 
culturists — those from whom you draw all the means for 
the extravagance around us ; some thousands of dollars, 
Mr. President, for the very draj^ery over and around your 
chair, while every part of the Senate chamber presents 
equal extravagance. The money expended yearly, within 
your iron-bound enclosures, which surround your Caj^itol, 
was more than the yearly expenses of the Government of 
the State of Ohio, which he had the honor, in j)art, to 
represent. 

" He did not wish now to look into the expenditures of 
the public money in the different departments of the Gov- 
ernment ; that stupendous mass of extravagance, corrup- 
tion and fraud, which he feared existed ; the fault of which 
was, mainly, if not altogether, in the legislation aud acts 
of Congress. He had confined his vieAv to tlie household 
economy of the body, to their furniture, the dress of their 
chamber, and their pin-money alone ; and he hoped they 
would begin the work of reformation and retrenchment 
at home. The people liad been " salted " quite sufficient in 
this branch of the public expenditure, without adding to 
the amount fifty thousand dollars for printing these 
British salt documents. 

" He hoped Senators would pause, and look back at what 
they had done. The amount paid for printing had been 
enormous. The Post Office Eeport — some thirty thousand 
copies, or more — had been printed at about fifty thousand 
dollars cost, with a view of enlightening the people, as to 
the alleged corruptions of that Department; and what 
had this printing done? Furnished a fat job for the 
printer — and the whole story is told. He had heard of 
their being used as wadding for cannon, fired to celebrate 
Democratic victorieB ! He thought this an effectual mode 



Mi 



Lil'fi 



K> A i •• n J4<ittRl!i 



of a 

In hif« part of the 
under which the ti 

f^ — - wan '^•-•► 

and <!' 
drain 
c 
%^ 

'J 
In other 

K 

tl 

•♦ Pcrr\* » 
rev," nil 



Aru ut^\,^f\l ...... ..,..or», 

*'v mcml»eri of 
V3, and UM*<\ for 



I a, t X - 



o ifc ^• 



a It 



but 



in |> 
bv 



*>f 1 



•4. 



nrrr on<» 



n <»f 
. .'-••. X each 



'" .\i'\ ' 



r 



.ii> 



!T A^ 



KBrmo 



w 


; r. 1 ; 


inc (^ us.'' it lii, 


doc« t 




tt. Ill lu iiiift Govrrn- 


mont. tiitit 


• 


in caii luio it for the 


oil 




the I 


bvt 

• 




on the 1 


of < 




ot its ( ikI 


dishiir 




ut 


any fo 


or c^ 


;.■■,. • .-t 


man > 


'1 


with the in- . or t 


%'. 




to aftk thiH «. .<! bo to 


answer it 






The i 


- . 


' _ — is bound to 



provide a ciirrencr for the coimtrv. I ran by no means 
admit this arffumanu in the sense in which it has been 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 365 

urged in this debate. Congress furnish, in fact, a cur- 
rency for the country ! If so, from what source is that 
power derived, and in what form is it to be exercised ? 
Congress, by the Constitution, has power to coin money, 
and regulate its value, and the value of foreign coins. 
This provision of the Constitution by no means authori- 
zes Congress, to make or increase the currency, by the 
mere act of Government, either for its own use, or the use 
of individual citizens. It would be a dangerous practice, 
and at war with every principle of our Government, for 
Congress to exercise or possess a power like this. 

I admit, that in despotic or monarchical Governments, 
where power is claimed not to be derived from the people, 
but y^re divtno, the power to supply their own Treasury, by 
their own authority, is claimed and exercised. It is the 
peculiar prerogative of the crown to make its own money. 
That power, in this country, belongs to the people. The 
Government can have no money, but by their permission. 
The people have in their Constitution provided, that gold 
and silver shall be the material of which money shall be 
made ; and they have given the power to Congress to coin 
it, and regulate its value. Congress has declared by law 
the shape and size of money, and the inscription it shall 
bear. They have also caused to be erected a mint, a great 
national workshop, where money shall be made ; they 
have erected machinery and employed workmen for this 
purpose, all at the ]3ublic expense, and the operation is 
called coining ; but Congress have no power to dig the ore 
or purchase bullion, in order to make money for the use 
of the Government. The mint belongs to the people ; it 
is for their use ; it is to make money for them, free of 
personal exi^cnse, out of their own metal, and for their 
own benefit; and how much, or how little they will have, 
like all other articles of property, depends on themselves, 
and will be regulated by their means, their industry, their 
fancy, and their taste ; and the Government is under no 



TTTK or prv\Tr. n v.. ruth 

n. I t« ; Hid tft •« in thin par- 

tnit. U r in a n^ 

to I'. '^^rtr tn t4^ enter into 

eompi'tition „. rrnHs.. in thi« ri'irfTrular, 

im it would N' *" ' '''er in!" • in the i. .. .. . com- 

aolraiuiii ' :.;ut:-'u. uavc 

J.: no other 



1 t « 



II. 

tr Ibr saIc uf iho 

p the It* I Am 

C- 

I no «: t — that 

C 

It r '»n . t<» re«t. 

the. 

w^i.K in tl ....... ..ote«, and whi^h 

tl ..-., .- ;he pi ur ♦""••■'- ♦>•• i*. r..*-'- . r 

smiling l^i^.^ '— • -^hich w© 

wonld retn -t to ^i- 

b ' rit. 

t! ' lltikl Uu tl rit 

is ni wiir ufn^ii i 

C' the . <>l the rnnn- 

try in m e too i 

ii iiv oi' our « 

e; live on credit, i 

C of the 1 ktine •♦ And they 

aro ft».kine ^h** aid - toe: t«^ 

|»n»porty of the I n^ an«l j 
c. . and appropriate it to their own use. by virtue of 
thia credit Byst^^m. Cr«dil beiougu to manin hiii individual 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 367 

character, not in his cori^orate capacity; and it is the 
essence of oppression and tyranny for the Government to 
bestow upon it a fictitious existence, in order to give them 
a credit which they never could otherwise have, and for 
which, in that character (their individual character), they 
are not responsible. It is to my mind impossible for the 
Government to lend its support to the credit of any man 
or set of men, without producing injury to others. The 
Government has nothing of its own intrinsically : what it 
bestows upon one, it must wrest from another; and it 
would be as highly impolitic, unjust, and despotic, for the 
Government to seize upon the individual credit of the 
country, and force it out of its natural channel according 
to its pleasure, as it would be to seize upon the entire 
property of the country for the same purpose. Ko coun- 
try can be free, where the Government thus interferes 
with the private concerns of individuals, for the purpose 
of adjusting the balance of wealth among them. 

On first taking my seat in this body, I was surprised to 
hear that the practice had been to permit those who had 
the public money in their hands, to use it in trade or spe- 
culation, between the time of its collection and disburse- 
ment. Large sums were then being paid into the treasury, 
for which the Government had no immediate use. I was 
asked if I would permit those sums to lie idle until 
expended by operation of law? Surely I would. I thought 
then, and I think now, that it would be better for the 
country that they should have been entirely lost, even 
burnt in the streets of Washington, rather than be used 
for the corruption of the people. But, Sir, other counsels 
prevailed, the money was ordered to be deposited in the 
State Bank, a measure to which I gave an unwilling 
assent. The banks were told to loan liberally on those 
deposits. And what has been the consequence ? A host 
of borrowers were immediately found at the banks, who, 
in the pursuit of fancied wealth, neglected the ordinary 



LtPB or ttB!CAT«iR « O R R I !i . 

and rv u) d, 

and id 

b«vc becD V. a. 

II- 



that th 

of T^ I H thin 

to till ^ -:ao 

^^ ui the 

' u\: I' ''man 

Hir. f • W . -,4r, 

will • of 

it 

<>- 

ni ol' i- a- 

th' .-y 

. ii- 

iJ^-rn. >ir. I iti I : the . , my 

infant mini .^ hi>t ii :»« of (tovcrnment 

fVom lhr»t • n nn.!. r v .. . v- HOW Hve, formed 

^v t*'.' { day. I wa?» taii^^ht to 

't iU« Ucv< '■ ' !i. and the 

ti*L ' :tioD, waa the ?i:<-u: ••- f the 

luuiviUi *v .. T r Tnotion of ui'iividoal 

tnc 1 ot I :: individual 

Ui«4iii*. ii «\;t> I' \\ofe<)aal 

■i and Im nil. lu 11 ivr;* unil liii-»r y ty 

All we a m the itt»\ i, in j n, 

1 vjitlence. and the a* >u ot* impar- 

tial ' • M- firt-side innv l>c ni: m 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 369 

either internal or foreign aggression ; that the bounties 
of Providence which we have gathered through the day 
by the labor of our own hands, may be safe from the 
midnight robber ; in fact, that we may all sit with safety 
under our own vine or our own fig tree, and none be suf- 
fered to make us afraid. 

We claim neither the vine nor fig tree of Government ; 
nor do we wish the power or means of Government to 
enable us to avail ourselves of the labor, or possess the 
vineyard, of another. Eiches and w^ealth should be the 
reward of individual industry, frugality, and economy — 
and not acquired by the favor or patronage of Govern- 
ment. Yet the whole of the arguments against this bill, 
are based upon this principle — the principle that the 
Government is bound to furnish the means to the citizens, 
not only for obtaining a livelihood, but of accumulating a 
fortune. Sir, this is the language of tyranny and despot- 
igxn — to promise the people much, for the purpose of 
gaining sufiicient power to rob them of all. I heartily 
agree in the sentiment exj^ressed by the President — 
" That all communities are apt to look to Government for 
too much. Even in our country, where its powers and 
duties are so strictly limited, we are prone to do so, 
especially at periods of sudden embarrassment and dis- 
tress. But this ought not to be. The powers of our 
excellent Constitution, and the people who approved it 
with calm and serious deliberation, acted at the same , 
time on a sounder principle. They wisely judged, that' 
the less the Government should interfere in private pur- 
suits, the better for the general ])rosperity. It is not its 
legitimate object to make men rich ; or to repair by direct 
grants of money or by legislation, in favor of particular 
pursuits, the losses not incurred in public service. This 
would be substantially, to use the property of some for 
the benefit of others; but its real duty — that duty, tho 
performance of which makes a good Government the most 



LIFE or fllXATOl MOREIt 



r 

ftvftem 

inf! 

The r 
thin AA on aH 
will And iu a. :. 
hn; * "'* ♦*■•• |>« 



l.ir.« To a ••r%' u 

I 



i — }• to enact n 



h. btit not 
to Uavo 



'■■■•• •• un 

ommenl 

he ex <>r 

i'-r a w. ant 

li'ji u« I to be • ro<1 

do moat : .. -^ • U 

%N ilh the 
I ui Uiun* t t than to 



6ir. thvM* ar 
n that «v 

^ 
in the 1 

form th»» rr«'«'«l of i 

\' 
< I 



the 
I I hav«» 






i. thn < 



1 



t' » ' " I > i U i 



n i i < 1 I II I 



• >. . • . ^ 



Thia is ttn- 

t \Tan I M h a \ V u . v. a \ 

horo. and v.»iir ' 

80und. a ' 

Irmo even iUv ni^ht. 

Ith 
ti<'n 18. ^^ 
'1 id w. 



ap, and th'^y now 
. fh«» 

cal 
incul- 

*he pr 

ne K^i the 

and the ltv'>'iiimcnt 

- ■ "".n* in* - * 

:u. aim tai" iiuanA hy i 

•,ki Im.' but an • 
of which vou wil 



• the 

; or no I 

it originat« d with tl 



LIFE OF SENATOR xM ORRIS. 371 

not only lived upon their own credit, but had sold that 
credit to their laborers and dependents, and when it failed 
and became worthless for want of a "6aszs," they came 
forward and asked the Government to sustain it in its 
sinking condition, by permittiDg them to amalgate it with 
the credit of the Government; and because this unjust 
application is refused, they raise the cry of bread or no 
bread, and declare that the Government is withholding 
bread from the people; indeed this false and ground- 
less position is assumed on this floor. Gentleman have 
asserted the same thing — indeed, they have gone still 
further. It has been said (but I do not deem it necessary 
to designate gentlemen by reference), that "the duty of 
the Government, as I understand it, is to provide 
bread for the people." 

" The duty of the Government to provide bread for the 
people ! " Clothing also, I suppose ! This idea of pro- 
viding by the Government for the private wants of the 
people, has in it nothing new. It has been long practiced 
by men whose object was the overthrow of their country; 
and we find this scheme resorted to, in almost every age 
of the world. 

When the unnatural son of the Jewish King wished to 
dethrone his father, he made use of this same principle. 
He told every man who had any application to make to 
the Government, that his matters were just and right, but 
there was no one deputed to hear him ; and he, also, told 
all such, that if he were made Judge in the land, that ho 
would do every man justice. I fear, Sir, the same dispo- 
sition is felt and breathed from many a heart in this our 
day. " Oh ! that I were made President of these United 
States, then should every man have bread.'' I trust tlie 
last scene of Absalom's career will not be theirs. And 
Watt Tyler, too (if I mistake not the name), promised 
the people of England, in his attempt to break down the 
Government of that country, that when he obtained rule, 



872 Liwm or sbxator morkic. 

A four piMiny loaf • two i the 

} of alo - i b« r» I to 

! the people \ t » r- in t: 

^ •! In fVtTV 

ttn<i in ♦•vr-rv • -v, in J 

f«»r ih J 

in«lu«itr\*, hut hn •.. >^. r...t rr^..« 

tl»<- JiUh . ' • . 

und t!f 

I hu.. try, 

and ll { 

in »n " h a |»t»«fr anil 

jatt : Ail Uto } t 

owncU lt\ u ji 

it*. ; 
iUiJ ihr J 

or ' h to ii 

cial ht s I n,n woll 

r t and - 1 

J rf. it to lhi» _ ..f the 

(Hiuntrv ..nr*r thr Tinttirp of •ur 

ICcpul-. - „ ■- pt wt ^ ommcnt 

to rule over th' r...,r.!. in..r.!i4i of a t* ut to ^■•' 

ruled by the ; ....,^ut then pat off the f ■ 

^rb of homt-.ii'i ;-*-• and glitter in the livtr^ ui 
power. 

Tiic luiiMwini; an* t*^ * ■ _• " ^J,^. j^j^] 

lo ; .fur a iihiUvd lnuv, liie I'l H of the 

S ■ I i'uiiiu- I. and t :it l^ii 

«i ; in the > Vj-rii, 1^ '.*. 

• lilt' < .e in their re i« a 

^ of revenue in the Tnu.Hury ; that t ;ito of 

t 18 not •: *> itM natural tei v iit to 

produce cxlra^ . I in u{>proprialion, and ua- 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 373 

in the expenditure of the public money. This is a tru- 
ism, in part, not to be controverted; but if it be true 
that this surphis actually exists, it is strange that the 
Committee, after having discovered this wasteful disease, 
and its cause, instead of recommending a radical cure, 
should propose to extract the infectious matter from this 
Government, and diffuse it into the State Governments, 
and thus innoculate the entire body politic. To prevent 
its effects here, this political empiricism would be produc- 
tive of the most fatal results. The reduction of the cus- 
toms, which would be a complete and effectual cure, the 
Committee believe can not, or rather ought not to be 
resorted to, because it would awaken, as they say, feelings 
dangerous to the peace and harmony of the country. And 
the reason assigned for this strange conclusion is, that the 
tariff law- now in force, is the result of compromise of the 
opinions of citizens in different sections of the Union, and 
ought not to be disturbed, unless a strong political neces- 
sity calls for some new modification. The first position 
assumed by the Committee, I believe to be founded in 
error, and calculated to mislead the public mind. 

''The tariff, as it now exists, is not the compromise of the 
opinions of the citizens in the different sections of the 
country, because it is too evident to require proof that 
the citizens of the United States have constantly been 
opposed to a protective tariff, and to the collection of taxes 
either directly or indirectly, to a greater amount than 
would be necessary for the support of the Government ; 
and on this ground have they constantly opposed the 
whole doctrine of internal improvements by Congress. 
The present tariff law is rather the result of a compromise 
between individual members of Congress, representing 
different sectional interests of the country, and was 
entered into for the advancement of those interests, inde- 
pendent of any consideration of results, as operating upon 
the citizens generally, in each and every section of the 



8T4 Liri or tiiiAToii morrib 

Union. T Ktiire wa« a t'«>til c> 

an annzi if. It« tirat born ^ l to 

bind the handii uf :. ^n 

Um •• \ fi»r At- ,- f.,-vn 

to ry. whirh may l»« u^cd 

to r rnii»' • or bo UM*<i f«»r r rriitirrriLr lh« 

' . lh<* " i-* mav \' . .:.-irc#t 

1 r .^ <'f ' who I'l the tunc >'••!»•" the 

I^'nw . .. And u;. .. . v...<» ij«" — ••■— oof 

t* ""^, 1 1 , ^.ittki ih*^ ' -'•- — • • : be 

wvu iiiued. uui »ept up i'Ji luc ) !i ui cum* 

r --'*. and may Ik» r- - of 

Ouvcrntnent It' thin lu i 

t H to bo r i. 

nary - of the o liio 

' to be 

\ii. I. t 111 

the a- l» ;• . ' I. 

1 but on thfir 

« in t. • Tnii^Ml 

ll' thm -11 dec>m it an ui i^ 

I >i\, then the ' nt on thi* tvThit tn!l» to 

the grounii . . . .. . .i aa 

to nduc" •entirely th-* ^ .-...,..;ia revet"'" in the 

7*'. n.,,,- i u^ at!' ♦ ;•• wie up the han-N .. I'uture 

' . uv the n»« i •• • r m law. i- -vul n more 

i error. The i iL..c p'i*erof th ntryiaal 

ail uuicji equal; it baa uu LM ' but the Con.^ ' n. and 

:ht to have n- ' ' ;l)lic ui.. where 

<l atvv ■;<, it al to the 

;«* ol Ui 

be iVvv uud u >ut tui.t iievvr %^ouiii bv the 

cabe if it8 d i be prwcntid Iruni I I 

on any ftUL;"< i by oxibiing Ian*, over which it ougtii i»ot 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 375 

to exercise any control. It would establish this dangerous 
principle, that the power of the people is not always 
competent for the maintenance of their rights. The pro- 
posed measure of increasing the appropriations for fortifi- 
cations, the navy, and general defense of the country, is 
not by the Committee attempted to be directly negatived ; 
but it is said that large and liberal appropriations of 
money for these purposes, though just and proper in itself, 
can not be well applied, and ought not to be made, because 
it is not in our power to supply proper materials, and 
skillful engineers for this purpose. This is, at least, the 
force of the argument ; and on account of this exigency, 
no more than ordinary appropriations ought to be made. 
I am at loss for words to express my surprise at this argu- 
ment ; nor can I, for a moment, admit its correctness ; I 
can view it in no other light than as a libel upon the Amer- 
ican people, and an imputation on their skill and industry ; 
that people, whose inventive faculties and mechanical 
o-enius have not only surpassed former ages, but is the 
wonder of our own, and who have subjected the very ele- 
ments to the condition of a laborer in their employ ; that 
this people should be told by their representatives that 
they have not sufficient knowledge to erect forts, build 
ships, and other public works to any extent, and in the 
best possible manner, is an assertion as new as it is 

unjust. 

'• The reducing the price of the public lands, or the 
ceding them to the States in which they lie, is next con- 
sidered by the Committees. The first objection to a 
reduction of price is, that it would tend to reduce the 
price of real estate generally. This objection is not well 
founded ; the price of an article is a relative term, wanting 
both stability and uniformity : it is the effect, not of reason 
or justice, but frequently of caprice or whim, and not 
unfrequently of taste, convenience, or necessity. But as 
to the public lands, justice, reason, convenience, and 



876 LIFE or ^E^ATnR ynRitit: 

I V. all scorn to to roduc« 
Ihcp: be valid, 
it :^_ a or erec- 
tion of nnv n*>w n :,l of any 
Ti»w ■ _ Ou • nco will be 
in rnh, n T>o«ition which T V.. tK* 

r.-inu .. .V . I't.fui 1..; 

i he next . »n to m r '^ ■• •-• ■ of the 

J. .,»':• v.. t^ i..at it wool': aii lu luc uajurj*, not 

t — •"* 'n \«uu a the Undn arc aituatiMl. 



L aA the : -e 

i*Mi4i. l.y l! i.i r* f 

all land in t mUt trith that ot the 

J I in rojiiy t • learc to 

I and almost 

in which 

an Well aA 

the oj o 



hail anv rornn-t ki n#»' 



y 



all «•«•!! kn'»w thnt • . . the 

fP"* , .1 ii.»i . comfort to the people, 

IK nnnnrtstionablv thr h, .. . that the f^are^t means to 

iju;-n t*'i«i 1, is to enable eTeni' man to 

.e a IV- * '' "■' *^"'* '"• '"■" *<";••" '^'^ -«.»:• r^ •"'^n 

»_>i -ii^> i^J^. thai -••ui»- -_ • »> !_• . ail, i^ ui,"« uwu, t-uat 

the Go%'ernment of this t-antr}* i> uound to protect him 
in it^ quiet • nt. and that, when he nhall riturn 

fh>m hi^ daily i<iiM>r to hi** hearth and hiw 6reeide. none 

"to make him afraid the nleep of «uch a 
man wjli Ik- cjuiot. and bin r- i no • r 

how « his fare may be, his iove ot country- will nrv.r 

1. lo nor la h. Such men mn the^e arc the true rirhrs 

o! (i«»vfrnmeut. and will al und n-ady to • 1 

t: -ir country for their country!* wike. It ought to be 
our m<»sl ardont wish, and : to provide 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 377 

means by which every man in the United States might 
become a freeholder, if that freehold did not consist of 
more than twenty-five acres ; indeed, it matters not so 
much as to quantit}^, if a right to the soil be the lot of 
every citizen. 

" Another objection, made to a reduction of the price 
of the jDiiblic lands by the Committee, is, that it would 
encourage speculation, and throw the whole of the public 
domain into the hands of sharp sighted capitalists, who 
would be enabled to retail it at advanced prices to actual 
settlers. This objection is more showy than solid, for 
ever}' day's experience teaches us, that speculation in 
articles of high value is more common than in those of 
low ; when the Grovernment lands were sold at two dollars 
per acre, speculation was as much complained of then as 
now. It is the relative, not the actual value of an article, 
that induces speculation. But this objection is easily 
obviated by providing for the sale of the public land to 
actual settlers only, and in limited quantities. 

'• The last, and which the Committee consider the most 
important objection to the reduction of price in the sale 
of public lands, or ceding them to the States in which they 
are situate, is, that the several States, by their deeds of 
cession to the United States, vested only a trust power, 
and that the Government of the United States is only the 
mere trustee of the several States, bound to carry into 
effect the grants made by the States for the specific pur- 
poses intended by the grantors ; and when those purposes 
are fulfilled, the residue of the grant does, and of right 
ought to revert to the States ; and extending the trust 
power further than I believe it has ever been extended in 
equity, they give the trustee the power to change the 
nature of the trust, and convert the land into money, and 
distribute that among the States. And one further 
stretcii of the imagination leads the Committee to conclude, 
that U\nds acquired by the United States by virtue of 
32 



878 LirX OP 8K5ATOR MOERIB. 

trcalicfl maUt.' hUicc Uic a a ut uicC' .i:uu, nave 

n paid for hy money 1*^*1 ;rom the - . ^ . 

i»\ the F* ' ruii' UiU Uuui«. liivv 

» ■ •- the j •• lo Uic lik 

I havf 

untrv, at > d- 

nient a« ' 
oflho f 

frum ! 

I: I in il 

mnv. i^ • 

_ T into iU compo* 

aiiioD. It ran nf '' tr, .—.ntrol by any part of 

thOM OVt; .^ .. f'i wretch for tb« 

welfare of n^^ »»»*• ,„ ^ n to any 

''*'•"' • •• • »•! • -- '• i L>e an abro^- 

euhiain tbo or. :.l iixai 

Ibo: that ' »i \§ 

priin;*rT. i m lU iy by 

C iki liiuitit, ait in t with the I ve 

power uf Uie »^' t not ; n- 

inent like that ot the l »n 

1 ift 1 the ezer* 

ci«c of il« power an<i ly 

within tl il in no part or 

c of the the I U ihe 

powor i:ranlo<i t« ' to b. n ii in any 

C; not oven for the T>fjri 'Wledge 

anv^Ptr men !. ii if gu be ii. I from the 

( . it must bo fr ..oneral grant in that 

instrument ; and if «>, bv virtue thereof, the United Stateii 
can not only art as trustee for the several States, but may 
be the trustee of any foreign gentleman or State whatever 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 379 

This Government, if this position be correct, can become 
the trustee of the Barings or Eothschilds in the manage- 
ment of any money concern they may think proper to 
establish in this country, whether it be for the diffusion 
of knowledge among men, or of buying men for political 
purposes without knowledge, or at least, without virtue. 
Under this general trust power, as it is presented to my 
mind, and as admitted, and, indeed, contended for by the 
Committee, Congress can become the trustee of the Bank 
of England ; the trustee of the East India Company, or 
of any foreign Grovernment whatever ; and thus act in the 
double capacity of an American Legislature, and as agent 
or trustee for another power, however inimical that power 
may be to our own. Indeed, I can not see but Congress, 
by becoming trustee, can effect any object they wish, no 
matter Avhat that object is, whether within the granted 
powers of the Constitution or not. Congress may have in 
view a favorite object of an internal improvement, for the 
benefit of two or more favorite States; they may bestow 
upon, or, in the language of the bill, distribute to these 
States millions of the public revenue ; and it may be well 
understood that the States are to create Congress a trustee 
for the express purpose of expending this money accord- 
ing to their own wish. There can be no end of abuses of 
this kind if Congress can act as trustee, and accomplish 
that which they can not do by direct acts of Legislation. 
I contend, in the next place, that the deeds of cession 
made bv the States to the United States, did not create a 

ft/ 

trust, nor were they so intended ; they contain no words 
of limitation, but such as are applicable to the exercise of 
power by Congress in every other case. 

" Take, for example, as the Committee have, the deed of 
cession made by Virginia. The only words of limitation 
mentioned by the Committee, and they are the only ones 
in the deed, are, that the land ceded shall be considered a 
common fund for the use and benefit of the United States, 



380 LIPB or ftkXATOR MORBia. 



in< 



^.»:ill « ..!.d 



\Mn*u luK . ol Utr liiMi , ami lor no d 



n»r 1' 


it 


• »!* |»i 


at in trnftt for the 




■'• 


anv 


to » th^ 




. or either 


of tl. 


thft \"nn1< 


^rf*j» if* .J in rm-.H fn-th • 


d 


lor thi' tiHo and i ... ... .... . 


... » ..t 


y, an'* • ■•' ••« a Cir 


. T 1 ,^ 


, aD«l ^ ":■ 

. t < . •■ a. • « • 


1 lo DO 


Pi uic ; 


oliuT u*c, iiitonL, • 




*-But 


' the t'«iii|» 


f, winch 


ked. 


'iJ 


>t U) 




'•• 


in 


of the trii«t which 


thcv 

• 


i for 


iho 11 


V 


in< 




-1 


nn<! a - ite title 


t'»th. 


iriv t>vidi*nl 



' .... I* lands to 

.-. »»'V j'ompcr;-'i*''»n 

given !i»r t». -' • 1 »;»t. . . • nncc oi ^.i- h 

grants are i inn- ■ ? the 

power of ' - lu iiK- i- . ' ir.mllv 

exercised, i.a- i - ' n qu' a ixi n. 

" In my own uuuu. i am peru cuy m 

lie lands of the United S* may l»-- ;; ..i.;. . i»v i ■ 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 381 

to the individual States in which they lie, or to individual 
persons, with or without compensation, as the safety or 
security of the United States shall require ; but when 
converted into money, and paid into the Treasury of the 
United States, they assume a diiferent character ; they 
are revenue; and that Congress can apply the revenue 
of the country to internal improvements, or make a 
donation of it to States or individuals, has been con- 
stantly denied by a great majority of the American 
people. 

" If we are to consider the distribution contemplated by 
the bill as a mere gratuity on the part of this Government, 
and that Congress has no power to define the purposes to 
which the States shall apply it — and this principle seems 
to be admitted by the bill itself — I should be glad to 
know what could prevent Congress from distributing to 
twenty -four individuals, or any other number, this money, 
instead of a distribution among the States. I can see no 
difference in the principle governing the two cases ; and 
the exercise of power, in my view of the subject, is as 
clearly unconstitutional in one case as the other; though 
a distribution to individuals would so shock the moral 
sense of every man that, with one united voice, it would 
be declared that Congress had most grossly violated the 
Constitution, as well as being guilty of an act of moral 
turpitude. 

*• There is another view of this subject still more appal- 
ling. It is true that Congress, by the Constitution of the 
United States, have no power to make any law respecting 
an establishment of religion, or proliibiting the free exer- 
cise thereof; but if Congress have power to create a sur- 
plus revenue, and power to make a distribution of the 
same, they can in effect render null and void this provision 
of the Constitution ; they can distribute this money to any 
church or sect they please, and thus as far as money and 
the favor of the Government will answer, give such church 



Lift, or ^exATom morris. 

or r the ume bv i'rute«iant or 

c. i rn all tl. 

ciku lis uih:. n I ot : 

1 

the r lo make * : hv tho 

bill 1 I 

war •! I I 

onuly put lUo Iv if 

ho i« !■ • hv 

in h thf • he haa 

tli Ml Rpi ■ ^. to be paid 

oat ' ..ry of the I r ,.i.v . r i),,. 

pt!-' I hare mo* • , 1,,. le 

In «'iiv Ovuttk'-'i iVuO will Oj'vitk^ uiiu p<_»5iu>ui> a\uW SUCh 



ri;-^ • 



tac 



lla ir 


U A li 


1 


d. 






tH 






ei. 






atiii 




ihe ver>" 


it may 




the 


yet 






fr. 






it 


tn 


tho 


(:k!..i. . 


i 





d thus 
tea 



w 



the . . 

if. 

r of I'Vcry 

I to hold the 

same as G"v. minent nr .ncrtv thr firat result would l>e 
a host of c... . m to - ul thi ... -tm. .» of the '^••"'•le, 

and •!.-»f.»y their livinjf ;' the n-*^' ♦ ... ...^ into c;>. ;, .*co 

a f ^ -^-n who would of c^wr^. become the tonantji, 

lai"'ivi>, uiii d' — • Icnts of th *" vcmmcnt, instead of 
being free cit- -^ ^* *. u ncn Government is a 

lari?c J' r, ii. . .taM** :»t 

and will Ih^ iiibUiiciions in 1 tic weuiia ui the 

country will be found in the . :nd power 

will be mor are in the huuds of th ho are 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 383 

intrusted with the management of public affairs, until the 
very condition of landlord and tenant will be found to 
exist between the officers of Government and laborers for 
the State. It is, in my opinion, a perfect absurdity to 
suppose that the principles of democracy and equal rights 
can long exist in a State that is herself a large property 
holder. 

" The public lands ought to be looked to as a source of 
wealth belonging to future generations, not on account of 
the money they will bring, but for the population they 
will sustain. A steady, industrious, contented and fixed 
population, are the riches of a country. A provision of 
the above kind, would, in my opinion, produce that effect; 
a residence of three years Avould produce the blessings 
and attachments of home, wdiile the sale of the freehold, 
even at an advanced price, would seldom be an induce- 
ment to part with it, because a larger quantity of land in 
most cases could not be purchased elsewhere, and thus 
contentment would ensue, while the products of the farm 
would enable the younger branches of the family to pro- 
vide themselves a home upon the same terms. The next 
beneficial result would be, to check at once the fearful 
speculation in public lands that is now in progress, and 
that ruinous system of borrowing that is resorted to for 
that purpose ; and those now engaged in that business 
would then turn their attention and means to some other 
pursuit that Avould advance the growth, prosperity and 
permanent wealth of the country. And last, though not 
least, it would dry up one of those sluices, through which 
money that is not needed is constantly pouring into the 
Treasury ; and it would preserve for our children and our 
children's children, even to remote generations, an oppor- 
tunity of acquiring a freehold on the same terms as was 
aftbrded to their fathers. But if we sell this valuable 
estate )\ow as fast as possible, for the highest price that 
can be obtained, and make that and not the settlement of 



184 LIFB or SBXATOS MOEEIS. 

the « and oi 

II iig it 

e> t. or : of an 

iii nt 

• •#• 

! r.^nrnl thr ontirc datlM on 

.1... . r or Ibrin in the 

<Ji' * •••"•" f''n! t>jirt 

Ot •' ' 

dui\ ui lUiu tii :^ 

or *' duiv uii uiAt 

ai • two 

01 

of i' < ul il HA brr 

I" 
of ti 

n 

that. th«»y will af.; 

It ♦*> th«> I 

pi . 'W 

one h 

Are pt-: i 

t). 

fniiijij twu uuii;ir?* J 
di^triluitcd to thtMU ity 

OT 

•« 

a- 

aru Ubed monily by the 1: 

re cnue of the ' i not 



to 


• 




•' Inn i 




:x htuidred 




«•« pay one 




a • li t>l1 "l^f 




V iv. '^ 


a iur 


^<. r man fi m um 


i itii 1 


IriondA mnko ita 


'Mlt 


if the Hurnluii 


liH has* heen rcpre- 




duti 




lire. >v iiK-li 




ao that the 




1 it» just wants, 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 385 

and you will relieye the State of Ohio, in one year, from 
the payment of a much larger amount than is proposed 
to bestow upon her by the provisions of this bill. 

'' It has been also said in the course of this debate, as 
matter of alarming tendency, that it is claimed for the 
President that he is the representative of the people, and 
that General Jackson has put up such claim in his own 
behalf, as the single representative of the whole people 
of the United States. Whether these assertions be well 
founded or not, I think it unnecessary to inquire. I have 
never been alarmed at the cry of danger from Executive 
power. That power, though extensive in its operations, 
is held under so many checks and restraints, that I have 
always viewed it the weakest and least dangerous of the 
three great powers of this Government. It is in the first 
place an elective power by the whole people for a short 
period of years ; and being intrusted to a single person, it 
is watched with the most vigilant attention, and the least 
departure from correct principles is deeply noted in the 
public mind. It is a power which can originate no 
measure, biit is the agent, and subject to the orders of 
the other great powers of the Government. Being in 
the hands of one man, he is subject to impeachment 
by the Eepresentatives of the people; and the Senate, 
with the Chief Justice at its head, are his judges. It 
would be strange indeed, if the Executive power, thus 
checked and circumscribed, first by the people, then by 
the other powers of the Government combined, should 
over become dangerous to the libcrt}' of the country. 
The framers of the Constitution have thrown too many 
guards around it to excite any such fear. I am myself 
clearly of opinion, that if the liberties of the people of 
this country are ever destroyed, it will be the act of an 
American Congress ; and the first scene of the grand 
drama, constituted as the Senate now is, will take place 
in this Body." 
33 



LIFE • ■ t^ -i -.,.»» I > 



\'. 


the I'niun, in 


l** „ t^nlr 


. her and the State of 


t;;.. .. as lo the j; ... -, 


..- larv line H« la. 

• 


Tlie '' • -♦'•ntion of i .. 


f*nd lh?»» "♦" ^' '?*n, in 


dcfin ■ - -• ♦•••• • 


— •-' ... ..»i .' * ....*© in 


cx»nf1 


.' n A^ included in 


Ih- i » 


i. ' ' her Con- 


1 


.,., in 




iu*i ' 1- 


M'l'.'-^i no . 


.1- 


lo in: ') their r 


riior 


Lura** • •>. «n 


. an h «n 


and nuftn. : an extra 


of the L« o. to 




lo in ' n 


, 


h M »n 




1 ...v© 


inter. i im: 


In 


the . ^ 


; 1 Mr p. was 


C*haimian. wn* t 


and mar.v ..ft) r< par- 


ticipaUxl in ii •••- -^ 




Mr Kw- - • V- \' - 


i.-i-. ; " '»!.;.. made 


Icntcthy aj 


•I Lu* « ' the 



.uca uv an Act of ' i lu lavor 

ol i.>. ' : rxlrart5 fn»m Mr. .u rr.:»a h, 

made in ibe " . '^n the lutli «»r >! ' - arc ucre 

re« i 

" Let it bo rno in mind, thai Ohio, ou this 

that - hut r a n;{ht; 

that »iK> » ve Ih- iil ol ibo T»«rritorj% 

in d. betweon her and M h lo 

» to wi" ">t 

over her ii 

*' In the vcMf 1^04>, 1 tir:«t had the iwDor of a »c*at in the 
Legidlulure of Ohio. No one then dv i the C«-»n8litu- 

lional bc'uudary of the State, no nn<» ♦hou>(h! '.f a 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 387 

proYisional boundary subject to the after control of Con- 
gress, or that an}^ assent of Congress then given or with- 
held, without the consent of the State, could possibly make 
any alteration of the actual existing boundary. But, as the 
country in the ISTorthw^est part of the State was then unset- 
tled, and its geographical situation not well understood, 
and as political movements of much importance were 
then taking place in the United States ; the attention of 
the General Assembly was not turned to this subject 
during that Session. But the next Session of the G-eneral 
Assembly took up the subject, and after expressing belief 
that the due east and west line drawn through the 
Southerly extreme of Lake Michigan would not intersect 
Lake Erie, or would intersect that Lake east of the Miami 
River or Lake, they, therefore, instructed their Senators 
and requested their Representatives in Congress, to obtain 
a law to ascertain and define the Northern boundary of 
the Stsite, and Jix the same agreeably to the proviso contained in 
the Sixth Section, and Seventh Article of the Constitution. The 
succeeding session reviewed the request, and also in the 
Session of 1811. Congress, in 1812, passed an act to 
authorize the President, to ascertain and define certain 
boundaries. This act was passed in pursuance of the 
repeated applications of the General Assembly of Ohio, 
but, (the war of 1812, intervening) was not carried into 
efi*ect till 1816. In that year. President Madison directed 
the Commissioner of the Land Office to authorize the Sur- 
veyor General to run and mark the Northern Boundari/ of 
Ohio ; in pursuance of this autliority the Surveyor General 
directed William Harris, to run and mark the line to 
which Ohio asserted jurisdiction, and which he contends 
is the true northern boundary. This officer (the Sur- 
veyor General) had been President of the Convention 
that formed the Constitution of Ohio ; was the first 
Governor of the State, and afterward Senator in Congress. 
As a faithful public officer, he was bound to carry into 



:i^=? MFE or HBTTATOt MORIIS. 

cff- lu'..: 'li '.'i itit Prewdthi. U'jvcmor Wor- 

♦* 1, uao had for ' * n t momberof the United 



- 


■1 t^hiM, lU 


Uin I 


t#» the General 


A- v. 111 


l'>i;. d. 


' 


\ 


lary 


of«h 








- tke itmikority 


t/ rAr / 








thiit t waa 


rt» 








Ttm 


of the 1 






d to the p in the 


( 








into 


the I 








1- 


arv line, a 


i in the < 






. and 

• 


"' ' ■ 










*' Permit me hem to | .. . 






nn question, 


how r»> ' 


nrr* fn 




,-- 


nsfr^irtion, actioo, 


•nd V 


>"» . 






«-aa. thectr- 


cura^* - • 


■ • ' • 1 1 i . 


* rt" 


iw-;*^ «. pnrtiea to 


it; » u 


•« 'Ji .. - 


-- 


. ,. . . t 


••".nner 


in wiiA I* • 


' * " lUili 




tan 


\>\x\ .lun. It 


W: 


-■ 




of 


. ii <f .trnment, 


cr 








rl* tho 


Wli<il»« « 








by the pab- 


lie 0] 








uf her State waa 

m 


Xl i in 


.ind 


up 


to the 


pre^nt n t. 


18:i«.. when t 








with nearly, if 


not fully 


1 u half m 






^ all thi« time, 


Rn<I .. 








and men. that 


ih.Tf ):.. 


l»nt ono » 






ken ' . n in 


tl 


the «j 




northern boundary ; and 


that U. that 1 


ihe n-rthei 


un« 


iarv of 


the State is esta- 



blished by the • titution. and is where the lino haa 

been lat- '^ r-o.w ^ J by the authority of the Legislature. 

To this ;..< . all the public functionariei* of the State, have 
borne ample trstimony. as well as the united voice of her 
citizens, fan it l>e possible that any portion of the enlight- 
•D«d citizeoa of this country, acting in the sovereigD 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 389 

character of a State, can, in a question of Constitutional 
right be mistaken, and that mistake persisted in, for moro 
than thirty years ; or that a million and a half of our 
citizens are so unjust, that they ask an alteration in the 
boundaries of the State, and are willing it should be 
resolved into a question of mere political expediency. 
Sir, I can not thus libel the people of Ohio. I can not 
believe it. 

"In January, 1805, Congress passed an act establishing 
the Michigan Territory, and by the provisions of that 
act imprudently, if not unwittingly, extended the South- 
ern boundary of that Territory, over the Constitutional 
limits of Ohio. The authority of Michigan, I think, was 
not attempted within those limits until 1818, and after the 
authorities of Ohio had assessed a tax on the people liv- 
ing within that part of the State included in the Michigan 
Territory, by the act of Congress before mentioned. After 
this took place, some of the inhabitants applied to the 
Governor of Michigan for commissions as Justices of the 
Peace, and other offices, under the authority of that Gov- 
ernment, which were readily granted ; and thus com- 
menced the jurisdiction of Michigan within the borders 
of Ohio. After the possession of the disj^uted territory 
was thus acquired by Michigan, under color at least of an 
act of Congress, the application of the military of Ohio 
would have been unjustifiable in regaining the possession 
at that time, and would be so still. Congress having cast 
over our boundary another title, and possession being 
obtained under that title while we slcpt^ the President of 
the United States, who is bound to take care that the 
laws of Congress are faithfully executed, would have been 
required by a faithful discharge of his duty, to have sus- 
tained the jurisdiction of Michigan against a military 
force, until Congress should have withdrawn the jurisdic- 
tion of that Territory beyond the boundaries of Ohio ; 
and this is all that Ohio now asks. 



•^'^'** Lift or hi. > AT u ft XiiftKift. 

• The Tv-oT,|c f,f Ohio wll! T -t I know they will not, 

* , - « mn<l - •' the 0*.' •'»•%' by an 
nttcDipt to prevent the oper... act « .- ,. Vv 
5 '"^ They have a! n-'^ ' v • .i Un- 

•♦ aa well n- ♦' >aiii> ui * ' . v. 

:. ... ^ii in will evii --- But t: ..n 

the part of Ohio, tl ul her • 

* ^' " ^ ' ul mJ Uvr 1 

or A tiui: ,i, I., t it 

r ' Li lil. try in 

« her and ' • o| " 4- t. r 



1 


I a ' 


* 


h 


1 It V 


■ 


to r 


to her T 


to which ftho h.. 


a ( 

T 


'•1 r an u 


: law, of •<|iiitv, or 



• "n t will it 1 . 
i , : That Oh-r ::n ior tin- ' ..1, on the 
iw»oreofj . .. -1I rr . , bo > • ^^-r the polit- 
ical view* of I ... .- the ; ...d. It may 

be thought that the at: ' "•♦ — -^ ^ r- -ko would 

}... ».. -..♦ ,..:*;. -.]. for ^--a iti iuiut. ,i it thouM 

I-- ai iiiij V •< of her honor. af« \^cii .. ' nntitntional 

r * * It Will be an entire m ' • ii \ 'to 

i'luiiuiio the fkror of the p a i.m»io, by i- ihom 

kiw that the (^onMlitution 

that the ul ul Mmr til la\«ir 

and p»MMi wiii. ma ai Im not this the 1 

y.«n h. 11 to Ohio, when you talk of j • and 

exj ' ' I am fnlly |KTi»uade«i. wiil never ho 

far humble her hon(»r and Re If- respect, aA to acknowledge 
^luh a principle. 

'Wo ai*k fornothinir but —nakinl. simple ju 

but We attk that, not a.H an ab<>tract principle, but as our 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 391 

undeniable right. It seems strange, to me at least, that 
we should feel so much disposed to assail the Constitution 
of the State, and be constantly looking after some princi- 
ple, by which we can, with some degree of plausibility, 
claim the honor of adding to Ohio a strip of territory, 
which we would make her citizens believe the Constitu- 
tion of the State had not secured to them ; when, if we 
would look directly to that instrument, and make it the 
rule of our action, we would find it sufficient for our pur- 
pose, and there written all we ask for. 

"Are the boundaries of a sovereign State to depend on 
the fluctuating legislation of Congress ? This doctrine of 
depending exclusively on an act of Congress for their 
boundary, will not satisfy the people of Ohio. They will 
require something more permanent ; and they will not 
cease their endeavors until Congress withdraws all juris- 
diction foreign to their Constitution and laws, North of a 
direct line drawn from the most Southerly extreme of 
Lake Michigan to the most Northerly cape of the Miami 
bay, and thus recognizing the jurisdiction of the State, 
under the provisions of their own Constitution, and which 
they are fully satisfied no power on earth, but themselves, 
has any right to alter, abridge, or restrain, in a single jot 
or tittle." 

EXPUNGING RESOr.UTIONS. 

In March, 1834, the Senate of the United States passed 
a resolution condemnatory of President Jackson, for the 
removal of the Deposits of the pul)lic money from the 
Bank of the United States. The act of removal created 
great excitement in Congress and throughout the Union. 
Mr. Clay offered a resolution of censure, which was 
passed. Mr. Benton avowed his settled determination to 
persevere until the resolution of censure Avas expunged 
from the Journal of the Senate. After renewing his 
Expunging Eesolutions for several Sessions, it was carried, 



Ttrr Ctf BFVATAH unii||Ta 



by a 








tn 1 


a of 


. rmarv 


1- : 


.»n«l 


• 

i\ in 




e, in the 
mnriiirr to iJni\\ ....,k 

to write in 



t v • •• 



|M !(ORD. BT 



he Hi |>atl rv ■ ' ' • ' ' ' - :». 

il»K* 1'. i . . ^9 

I ! by Ui« i in 

tn to th« 
I" 
tion tua<io ' 

31 r. V: —It i niv v I iiwn to 

I tnko thi«» «> no « the 

tttcl, tha! ' , 4 of a 

VMl nuk nf Ohio 1 \cnturc tbit 

opinion ' it f. ar . .. .-. TrKJiction; for U 

will l>c rv .. »>>**» di.....^ the • u of <''- • "r««i, 

which hn- - '• ---«,-! th, ....aicof div • Alffc 

f»- - • • Uie < •* ■ T - Imture. 

1 :i t u: * 1 111 h -injf 

till- 1 ;u I. ^ ol I. '!i 

the liaj.k ' Atitl to .« a rv-cl 

t4^r of that ii rv then tuid with g- 

* thai thv it* r 

I an*i ir own 

enlA^ niui tiioitc ufxtii ^' h of thin kind were 

to oj .an 

l"'Uy to ihc fKHjplo at larij. • the pti; 

1 the I). 
n«'t bo r* . . the Bank n -<hartere<l, a nif»»t • 

rious effect up«»n the trade, rr^-pority. and welfare of the 
country would l)c the c» .e ; that in fact it would 



LIFE OP SENATOR MORRIS. 393 

make our " canals a solitude, and our lakes a desert waste 
of waters." The long, loud, vehement, and repeated 
denunciations of the President for his act in removing the 
Deposits, the fearful forebodings so strongly and elo- 
quently urged on this floor as to the fatal issue of that 
act, all coming in aid of the means used by the Bank in 
producing distress in the country, took some effect, and 
operated for a moment, on the public mind in Ohio. It 
threw into each branch of the General Assembly for that 
year, a small majority opposed to the Administration ; 
but even that General Assembly, elected as it was under 
the full pressure of Bank power and panic speeches, had 
not the temerity to instruct the Delegation in Congress 
from Ohio, to vote either for a restoration of the Deposits, 
or a re-charter of the Bank ; they well knew that such 
instructions would be a violation of the public will, and 
they still, in appearance at least, paid so much regard to 
that, that they did not attempt it, but contented them- 
selves with a bare repeal or rescinding of the resolutions 
passed on that subject at the previous session, and thus 
in order to save themselves and friends, indirectly denied 
the right of instruction by the Legislature of their Sen- 
ators in Congress. The appeal to the people was then 
perfected, and the issue thus made, fairly presented to 
the voters of Ohio, to be tried at the election held in 
October last, and what has been the verdict ? A solemn 
decision that the right of instruction exists in the Legis- 
lature, and that Senators are bound to obev. That ver- 
diet is recorded, and judgment pronounced in the resolu- 
tions I now offer. But, Sir, that judgment has also been 
reviewed and re-affirmed, and is j^resented here with a 
double force, not only as the opinion of the last General 
Assembly, individually considered, but as required by the 
people of Ohio at the hands of their Representatives (as 
the General Assembly has rightfully declared) in the pas- 
sage of these resolutions. It is hoped and expected, that 



394 



Liri c»r KKXATOR vriiiit 



thiK hi(rh And tolemti n>MT..ii|t« n-jH ^ot be ^DtirelT ditrt> 
fT"'' ' and the re<r' ♦ ** lh« (f^nrral A*- — ' ly 

iu liij 'j^s u >Lnif, aiiu tiic 'luiv ni* uwt-. arc oi ickj ^,;l r«^d 
A chanicter to ho •' i with. I»i*- v ' ^ , • ^ 

8« ' r to the inptn. ;lo 

AA « ' h y I i* A a«< 

wouinl til Uw vitJi il 

not BMramv • lAtai ui' 

in the tir^t ] \i abrOfr thr n«' that 

the Lc truo n of 8tmt« 

•• 1 It L r the tink* 

beinif. ail the :. the Aill and (Vce 

e\ .t- 

in 



in«ti 






ren<»luti«.Tii 


. - * 




little if 


t» .. I 




moro t 


- 1 « V- 




ihift inij_>"i 


uint ».. 




ColumV 


. s 


in C't J a 


About nvi* 


liUU'i: 


\ 



tS;.. I>y u uiiaiii' 
AiliuWIi • 

I wo 
the sheet 
we nrv 

to Btand bv it. 
only hy the • and 

priv; that the I 

ment can Ih' ]»r»*>«Tv. 
to bo unworthy ; 
that he oai^ht to rofti^n hi 
"It iR true, thif Con vpntion 



in !h'« rn^f the 
ttTi.i rt, 

IV 

m 

. on 
iiict at 

a of 

pvvard of 

in tb« 

a n in th« 



»n Ai 

iir ir- . that 

to »- " it, but to tiio la^t 

we t! . it is 

of thifl invaluable 

*"hararter of thi!i (iovem- 

rho nifont wbo *: vs 

• - .vrul 

inpoaed of mon i'r\rn^\y 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 395 

to the present Administration ; and as a doubt no longer 
exists, that a majority of the people of Ohio are of tho 
same opinion, the Convention thus re-affirming the prin- 
ciples of the resolutions passed by the General Assembly, 
must satisfy every man, that Ohio requires her Senators 
to vote as instructed by the Legislature. But, Sir, this is 
not all ; we had another Convention, a grand Whig Con- 
vention, held on the 22d of February last, and they claim 
that a number of returning prodigals had come into their 
ranks, and the great ox, instead of the fatted calf, was 
killed; and they had much rejoicing; and it is hardly 
necessary to say, that opposition to the Administration 
was their watchword ; and while they boast of having far 
outnumbered the former Convention, they did not open 
their lips on the subject of the resolutions of instruction, 
passed by the General Assembly. In the pride of their 
strength, they were endeavoring to catch the popular gale, 
and well knew that opposition to those resolutions would 
prove their overthrow. I have before me, a paper con- 
taining an account of their proceedings, and I find no 
resolution pro or con on the subject of instruction to Sen- 
ators here. This silence is evidence of approval by our 
political opponents in Ohio, or that they well knew that 
the people of that State strongly disapproved of the con- 
demnatory resolution passed by this Senate. This excit- 
ing subject had occupied public attention. Almost every 
man in Ohio had thought and conversed on the question, 
and the Whig Convention, no doubt, would have used it 
to their advantage, if in their power. 

Under this highly responsible situation, we are called 
to act and vote ; and the great question is, shall we do 
our own will, or the will of that sovereign power who sent 
us here? It is a hopeless warfare to be contending 
against our States; it is a kind of moral treason, for 
which, sooner or later, we must expect to suiter the pen- 
alty. It is wisdom then, for us to make our submission at 



LirS op mXATOR MOBAfg. 

frnfr- and Tr>.. « we are called to vole m, ihe roaolntions 
.. -i by i;.. .^^ nator from MiMoari. that w© vote in ihcir 
lavor I hav© now str - • ^ . thai Ohio will \ ! 

in her Tote here, on iuiA : liir .^ : 

aloni r r to pay the ! l l,» Uio p» 

of her i. «• I h- j.. o i now orfor wm :.• c 

r»rTn an • • u wo 

our o) 

ao .al ai • ' SS . 

make 

own t»! -n It coiBMi in 

of < and I inav add l, if not 

y w» of fvnr own 

> not n © haa 

'•^T I. 1 ^ .. n of tho 

. . .uaJ af^«'r.t that oa^ht to be 
known and foil hero. If ih- *^''- ..; .* anable, from con* 
*>< i<*nliotui n^.» •^.•- ♦•■ <.»».' iital opinion, hit path of 
duty ia plar 



I '_• IlilU 



Ttf Hc ca not uiiiy t:.. •. . •.^ - • : Mr M rnt 

on the va- ' • nm^ jj,^ j^ cora- 

prchond aiiil < lu a clear n * alto 

ahow thnt. a« a \> 'he wa« fi^ .to all the 

inti>re«ts which ro c 

prosperity and u of Ohio, and the Na* 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 397 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

His Private Life and Personal Characteristics — Liberality to Poor and 
Honest Young Men— Thomas L. Hamer— His Life and Character— Mr. 
Morris's Son pronounces his Eulogy in Congress — An interesting foct — 
His Sense of Justice and Tenderness — Lines on the Death of a Grand- 
daughter—His Dislike to Idler's — Advice to his Youngest Son, on 
Leaving Home for College— The Editor's Reminiscences— His Religious 
Faith — The Moral Significance of his life. 

The private life of Thomas Morris, deserves a brief 
record. In this sphere, where the true nobleness of man 
is developed, there is an honorable correspondence with the 
principles that governed him, in his public career and 
character. Selfishness was not the ruling element of his 
private, as it was not of his public life. He felt that no 
one ought to live, without exerting a good and active 
influence on his fellow-men, and doing his part in the 
work of humanity and benevolence. In his own way he 
did his. He was a friend to the poor and oppressed, and 
no honest person, in want, ever went from his door, with- 
out receiving practical sympathy and aid. 

His liberality was unbounded and disinterested, toward 
poor and honest young men, struggling for honorable 
advancement in life ; and he had a pleasurable pride, in 
witnessing their success in life. Few men, perhaps, were 
more readv or were, under similar circumstances, more 
liberal in means and sympathy, to encourage and bring 
forvs^ard men, in the walks of public life, than was Mr. 
Morris. His influence lives in those who have been, and 
now are, prominent and. influential, in tho civil and 



LirS or ftlXATOE MORBIt. 

t; i "iiiirtwitiv* iii-.ii''iw<«--» under tu«j * ? • • ^ orn* 

n . * '» "• 1 of the nation, and r- • miIIv a * w- 

« 

1« their uui..- •■ ni to Mr ^' -ris lur ais s^ Ui^uiihy 

kJ ■ ■ '? ■- ■ 

O^ i ilitl 

lu I y ol' « nlnk*. 

In « a» ft ho went t«*rth 

an t and in the wide 

worid. i 

Ci WAV to iho rtlUipe and 

h r Mr M H.« w.T r- 

CI ?n th*» 

at 

it lor ; ^ law 

Library an i < Mr M , .. .,f 

whr.-i.. , ..^ Tn 1R2^ <• 

a . d to ♦* • ^ ■ mI i'. • '-• 



' ' I 



D< ■ >tia i>i 'D 

|>iii-.%:u iiau in li.*. 1. . .^uitOi 

ovor which he pr In 
1832, h 

to \x ' . «) 

j<MU>, ^ • u rr II. iu IMo. w iien 

tho war t> u, ho 

▼- a« a ) r, w. *r 

.1 ol the ti: and >«ard wum 

aj .. u h: in the 

am»v. 11 r\\ I »m 

iho M of !)• M'»nivnv, in 

Ai I ' two inontha 

pi d 

him to C' I'l l"t7. J- xi D., eli**«<t »ou of 

Thomas Morri-, at opi on, t < to fill 

the Acat in f on-Tf ^< rarntoi! hv hU drnth On tlio '2'.\i\ 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 399 

of January 1848, Jonathan D. Morris, in pronouncing in 
Congress a just eulogy, on his predecessor Thomas L. 
Hamer, after a recital of his early life, and political and 
professional career and character said : 

" The intellect of General Hamer was clear and dis- 
criminating. He was cautious, energetic, affable, and his 
colloquial powers were peculiarly fascinating. The purity 
of his character, in the private and domestic relations of 
life was never questioned. He was unwearied in his efforts 
to improve his jDOwers, and though nature had been 
liberal to him, it is, mainly, to this course on his part, 
that w^e are to look for the reason, for his great attain- 
ments as a Statesman and a lawyer. His friends being 
aware of this, claimed that his career would be onward, 
and that, if he had lived, his final triumph would be the 
the receiving of the highest honor which men can bestow 
on man." 

His remains were re-interred in Georgetown, Brown 
County, Ohio, his home, at the expense of the State. 

It is a singular and honorable coincidence, that Thomas 
Morris should be the means of aiding a young man of 
high talents and ambitious aspirations, and that he, after 
a brilliant career in the civil and military history of his 
country, and dying in that service, should have his eulogy 
pronounced in the Halls of Congress by a son of him, who, 
thirty years before received him as a friendless youth, 
and aided him in the achievements Avhich cluster around 
his active and honorable life. Mr. Hamer, a few years 
before he died, acknowledged his indebtedness to Thomas 
Morris, declaring his willingness to aid, if necessary, any 
child of the friend and patron of his early youth. This 
liberality of Mr. Morris has been repaid in the success of 
those to whom he extended practical sym])athy and aid. 

A sense of justice, equal and exact justice, to all men, 
independent of circumstances, or conditions, or color, was 
one of the strong and marked elements in his character. 



400 Lirs or rbivatoe morris. 

in prof«»*p!Anai. poiuivai. ai.a {>rivaic iju-. inih irmii h.il a 
bold mnd in: •iv©cTior;:v 

to hill act*, liin ^' ui I - have 

jT' him wiih a w i i m i-.. 1. m 

the IN rr — a p id to rarry 

oat the CI 

And th h R kind and benevo- 

lent h' 1 »ermim4Hw It WRR DOt \ Dt in 

ontwnnl r*» hnil a ri^h rein of 

. it Tho 
aorr U he had in hia 

own i hiA hoarl intn tenderncM. 

He - . . ur married lera. from 

twenty-fo"*- »•■ thirty yearw of R^e. each w^ r fRmilj 

of »mRll c .' " •' '^ of whom he Rdopte<l Rnd edacRt^d 

with pn- • 'al aii' ""- ? :.,.,.-—,. 

The luiiuwin^ luicn wm fAii;uit mv tt-n-icr t hi* 

hcRrt in the » of life. Th -y wen* wniui. af\«r 

V- ■ • ' o oJ aiKi 'td- 

d. lea ;. 

tiui. at thc> a«^o of ), to At the 

request of her tl he ; i th< 

titan ERA 

Diamt aialVt C^ tbrvwr 

rran %hx» mmm of ear* and vo ; 
The ii« %hhi bewid •• <iaaili dU 
T«t eala aad ptaofol didit tkoa fa. 

Apnl'i tan. anl T<>roU ilovert. 

Saw tJMe gvotlj paM to rptt ; 
Nov the roM wbi'-h frienlship gar* 

Growi aad bimioii on ihj 



Th« fHcndljr gi^rr. wan an I feeble. 

In fbad rHBaaitaraDot wc«p« Ihj doom. 
Aad kittdlj atka. if the roat akt gBv* thM^ 

Is irrreB npon thr earlj tomb 



LITE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 401 

Sainted motlier — sainted sister, 

Lie side by side in quiet sleep; 
Though the grassy hillock hide you, 

Yet our heart your memories keep. 

When late -we viewed thy graves together, 

Deepest grief our hearts did fill ; 
Yet resigned we checked our sorrow, 

For 'twas our Maker's holy will. 

'Tis flesh that dies, the spirit lives 

Immortal, in a world Divine; 
And hope its brightest prospects sheds, 

That now that better world is thine. 

Though parted here, we hope to meet you, 

When the toils of life are done; 
In a world of light to greet you, 

A world of light without a sun. 

The meek example thou hast set ub. 

Will, we trust, with us abide. 
That our walk in life may fit us 

To die, when called, as thou hast died. 

He had an intense hatred for idleness. Himself a hard, 
practical worker, in his profession or at manual labor, he 
could not tolerate idleness in others. His motto was : 

" Faint not in all the weary strife, 
Though every day with toil be rife, 
Work is the element of life ; 
Action is light ; — 
For man was made to toil and strive. 
And only those who labor live." 

He left this moral legacy to his children, in the advice 
he gave to his youngest son, a young man of rare intel- 
lectual powers, and purity of moral life, who went to an 
34 



LIFE OP SZMATOE MOEEIS. 

miij and 1: f?ni^«. in the autumn of 1K42. in 

Q \\ 1.. I. • c to . ^' hii 

* tho I that ' in his 

nv and 

E . to moral i . *»{ rrrry 

en rn^'n Ltt air if t morality, 

ftntirin^ inti ^mv. '• ittathf prrtf . -#, 6« 

jfOi. iUint ■■ \ motto that wil! Irad nil 

yoTinr* m. n. if a . \ to honor and pr , • .• 

many I» ...«. ii muralitv he r 

during in- h*e yvmr% «_i «_ nt Miami I'niMrtit^, 

Oxfurd, Ohio; and, aa h« la luaciiiod to his * ' r. for 
wt - r of inf o or have a< 1 in 

tht Aiijiintrj*. or tu i^ • ta pri\ that 

he h -i Vi i to 

1 to leave 
them aa a . tt to hif rv. and hia 

a. lie WftA. d in 

hia < and 1 no meanii to qualify them for 

Qi' and in li! It U mjf aim, my vi . 

(aaid hv) 'to to bimj t wiy t^*U tkrrt muig he 

p^rf'-t r ly nm*f ' •««« . , to each oiAer ; 

\\v \vu« nut a n . _ an in the church .. r-tatinn 

of that term, lie had an unshaken faith in the L......ijr 

and truth of Christianity, and ackno\% '- ^ '«>d that ita obli- 
gations Were binding upon all men ; ^vi, iike too many of 
our public men, he did not pablicly yield his heart and life 
to its practical p*»wer. The general harmony of his politicid 
principiff* with the moral leachint^ of CM inity. and 

his fre<|Uent reference to the Bible aa the l«>uiitain of all 
and of the /. " *ri/y. in " md in all 

human conduct, eviiir<.*n hm faith in iti* i>tvniv origin, and 
its tint importance to all the interests of men. Noth- 

ing ntlurded him greftter pleasure than to witness th« 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 403 

members of his family become pious, and join a Christian 
church. 

The record of his life and services here closes, and they 
have a suggestive and a noble moral significance. They 
are not surrounded with the halo of a military hero, nor 
the transient reputation of an ambitious and successful 
politician, nor the renown of a great statesman ; yet they 
are the record of a moral hero, a true patriot, of a life 
devoted to freedom, and the true welfare of his country. 
His memory and services will live in the history of free- 
dom, and the great principles he advocated, undying in 
their nature, will have universal triumph and a perpetual 
ascendency in the nation and the world. His life illus- 
trates the great fact, fixed in the moral constitution of 
things, that truth and right are imperishable, and that 
true and immutable principles, are the only basis upon 
which to build solid character, lasting renown, or to gain 
the final and permanent favor of the world. 

That he had his faults, said his friend, Dr. Brisbane, 
none will deny ; that he sometimes erred in practice, as 
well as in judgment, is but the common lot of humanity. 

That he had enemies, is nothing more than the best 
men have always suffered. That even friends were 
alienated from him b}" their misconstruction of his motives 
and acts, is only proof that they who do not know ano- 
ther's heart, need that charity which covers the multitude 
of sins. He was a man, not faultless indeed, but who as a 
husband, as a father, as a friend, as a citizen, was val- 
ued most by those who knew him best. 



I"4 Liri or IBIVATOR MOERIt 






CH A PTKK XXVIII. 

lift Dt*ih %ad ^'- -- ^- v: r : 

Or»re~I'* ' f 

of » 

in \lx ^ • 

Ht u;fi ^ . um; 4 la dav ol 1 ' ' '• I. 

In f>ertV • '•M'tur.' d 

^ I lit vijfon ii.H 

U wttTui til P .an Ir u !iH 

a fatal . . ot . ^IT^ 

in carir m • of 

lo i 

. homo hr folt t if 

n. He n 

tho floor, nn'i. with . 

/-"-/ A'»fw m»yi ^ in !« i!i tivo 

■ 5 irom 

iTitv, f »} ' •• r the rrpofte of a 

■^ - ath.onthc! remfti"- "Mrroaoded 

%viih a va»t ♦'• ..i^. ■. .. an<l i... ii*!?*. wore 

c«ntoinl>cd in ? ' v— ■» ; ,., vnvL Er© the riUc of 

fr« fiullure werv. r.. a MiniMcrof iheT; t, 

Hloppinif upon h iijiiLw.h. ut axrt t>0}«ide h i lo 

receive nil that wa** mortal of" ' ' ' u-.f,, u«Mrt-Hed 

ft fow hriof w .kUvc ol itia lite and the Pro- 

vi' «>!' livHi, und • i a pniyer, and * • 

oi'iijc luneral • wi-n* i-ndcd. 

Th- • ol liiH burial is in a retired rural village, 

iu Clermont couuty. in the service of which he §o long 



r 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 405 

labored, as a Lawyer, and a Legislator. If ever tho 
lover of liberty, or the friend of the slave, should visit 
that spot, he will find in that cemetery of the dead, a 
marble monument, which the filial affection of his chil- 
dren has erected to his memory ; and on that monument 
may be read this brief inscription : 

THOMAS MOEEIS: 
Born January 3d, 1776. Died December 7th, 1844. 

AGED 69 YEARS. 
UNAWED BY POWER, AND UNINFLUENCED BY FLATTERY, 
HE WAS, THROUGHOUT LIFE, THE FEARLESS ADVOCATE 

OF 

HUMAN LIBERTY. 

His death was noticed by the friends of freedom, with 
appropriate tokens of sorrow, and tributes to his memory 
and services. A public print in the Capital of Ohio, in 
noticing his death said : " He has possessed the confidence 
of a very large portion of his countrymen, as a philan- 
thropist and a patriot, and has sacrificed much of political 
advancement to extend and strengthen Abolitionism in 
the country." 

A friend who knew him well, and a distinguished co- 
laborer, in the great cause of freedom. Dr. Bailey, present 
Editor of the National Era, said, in noticing his death : 
" This distinguished citizen is no more ; he died suddenly 
on Saturday last, at his home. On the Thursday before, ho 
was at our house in high spirits, and pressing upon us tho 
importance of soon having a Libert}^ Convention in Colum- 
bus. We little thought it was the last time we were to seo 
his face. During the past six years, we have known him 
intimately, and we had every reason to respect liim for 



1"^'' LIFK or »K5(ATO|i MORRlfi 



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fett«ii^-> i>^vii I u^ ui--* cnor- Ua never 

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ma\ ti of him only as a fanatical At>olit. ... ;, 

but the (!;-" '- not far distant. %vhen a monument will be 
erected I-' Ai4' • Morris, antl t '^^ riiv will honor him 
aa the first v ..ired to raitn: uia voice a^inst tho 

•? *ic acts <.i a slavery-loving F- * 

i^tl his I' rv he ho! ' T*el Uic i rarv wnu n 

diHowiU'd hint, be : ' uitd hang i' id, let thr 

friends of • m \sccp over his grav« . lor when, in 

coming time, it shall be asked, whose was the only voice 
that was raised in indignant roluiko of the most eloquent 



LIFE OF SENATOR MORRIS. 407 

of Senators, when he lifted his hand to crush the cause 
of freedom and its advocates, the answer will be : '-It was 
the voice of the INTREPID Thomas Morris.''' 

In Cincinnati, the friends of freedom who had labored 
with Mr. Morris in the cause of human rights, at his 
death issued a call for a public meeting, in these words : 

" The sudden decease of our honored co-laborer in the 
cause of human freedom, Thomas Morris, has spread a 
universal sadness among us. It seems to be the unanim- 
ous sentiment that those who, in times past, witnessed his 
courage, disinterestedness, and unshrinking consistency 
in the cause of human rights, should meet to express 
their regard for his memory. A pillar in the Temple of 
Liberty has fallen. There are few of us noio to mourn 
over its noble ruins. The patriot heart grows sad when 
the voice is hushed that rang forth its trumpet tones 
against National Evil, and the heart ceases to throb whose 
strongest pulsations were against oppression." 

In obedience to this call the friends of freedom met in 
"Wesley Chapel, in Cincinnati, on the 20th of December, 
1844, and passed the following resolutions, otfered by 
William Birney : 

Whereas, it has pleased an all-wise God to remove 
from among us, by sudden death, our distinguished fellow 
citizen, Thomas Morris ; and as it is becoming to pay a 
tribute of respect to the memory of departed patriots, 
who have illustrated by their virtues, the history of their 
country — 

Resolved, That we can never cease to admire the lofty 
and disinterested patriotism of Thomas Morris, mani- 
fested as it was by a consistent public life of nearly forty 

vears. 

•/ 

Resolved, That posterity will honor him as the efficient 
Legislator, the incorruptible Judge, the able Senator, and 
above all, the bold and conscientious Advocate of Human 
Rights. 



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